Oddball: Rise of Power
by Poltergust 5000
Summary: One cold day, a lone Pichu enters the Crystal Palace, and meets a Duplighost. Pokemon happens. Backstory happens. Symbolism happens sometimes. Some dark stuff happens maybe. IT'S A ROLLERCOASTER BABY
1. Chapter 1: The Crystal Palace

**Oddball: Rise of Power**

* * *

Did you know that once upon a time, there was a Pichu? His name was Oddball. Unlike other Pichus, he wielded power far beyond that of mortals…

* * *

Oddball ran through the sparkling halls of the Crystal Palace, scurrying as fast as his little legs could take him. Which is adequately zippy, but still not all that fast in the end. I mean come on; the guy's only got 60 base speed. Anyway, he zipped through the suspiciously-empty corridors and hallways of the massive palace until coming across a strange door. Of course, like any protagonist of a story based on video games, he instantly tried opening it, and found himself in the back courtyard of the palace. Unfortunately, not much out there…save for a small dome-shaped building and a small hill with the mouth of a cave on the front.

Oddball sighed, his curiosity lessened somewhat by the surprisingly boring backyard. He wandered into the cave in the hill anyway, silently cursing himself for being stupid enough to wander into a dark cave behind a big empty palace.

As it turned out, the cave was surprisingly safe considering how much one would assume there to be horrifying monsters or at least a couple sharp crystals to walk into. The cave descended down for a long while, down a roughly-carved stairwell. Oddball took the long trip down as a chance to reflect a bit on what he was doing.

Why am I here exactly?, he thought. Honestly, there wasn't much reason. He had simply been running through the frosty countryside when he had seen the palace.

What am I doing here?, he thought. That was easy, actually. He had seen the large, important-looking palace, and had instantly run towards it, his curiosity piqued.

Why was I so curious about this place?, he thought. Well, that would have been because he thought he might find something here that he really needed. Like, really REALLY needed.

What do I need? What am I looking for?, he asked himself. The answer to that was quite simple indeed.

Oddball the Pichu wanted power. Not the evil, corrupt-y kind, that turns you into a mad man, but more like the kind you get when you finally find that enchanted sword that can slay demons. You know, the good kind of power. Oddball liked to think he had a pretty good reason to want it, too.

So anyway, Oddball finally reached the bottom of the cave. He stepped out onto the flat ground, glad to be able to stand up straight again and not need to hunch in order to balance himself. He looked around, and was surprised to find that he could, indeed, look around. The long trip down the staircase had been in pitch darkness, but he was shocked to find that somehow, this bottom-most part of the cave was lit! The ground was solid icy crystal, and slightly reflective. The walls were dark blue and covered in jagged stalactites and stalagmites. And last but definitely not least, he looked up and saw that the ceiling was in fact a thick sheet of translucent crystal, going straight up to the surface where the sun shone down, lighting the cavern through the thick layer of icy crystal.

But perhaps the most striking thing about the underground cavern was the figure sitting in the middle of it, facing away from Oddball. It resembled a classic bedsheet ghost, with red feet, and a messy mop of blonde hair atop its head.

Oddball finally realized that a soft tune was playing throughout the cave. A slow, calm tune that made him feel both pleasantly chilly and cozy and warm at the same time. He looked back at the strange figure sitting away from him. He could see it holding something in its sleeve-like arms. Was it playing a flute or something…?

Cautiously, he approached the creature from behind. When he was finally right behind the thing, and it still hadn't noticed his presence, he spoke up.

"Hey!" he said, causing the figure to jump and the music to abruptly stop. "You gonna sit there fliddling your flute all day, or are you gonna get up and do something important? Like notice when a random vermin sneaks up behind you!"

The figure stood up, and turned to Oddball. His face was unfriendly looking. He had a large U-shaped unibrow with one extra brow sticking up from the middle of it, dark, cold eyes that seemed to pierce Oddball's very soul, and a crooked, jagged, zig-zagging mouth that looked like he had spent his entire life eating incredible sour hard candies. He spoke in a mildly deep, hissy, and commanding voice, with a hint of annoyance.

"Well lookee what we have here." he said. His mouth curved upward slightly at the side, forming a sick smirk. "A Pichu wanders into the Crystal Palace meditation cave, and has the gall to sneak up on and startle a duplighost mid-meditation. The Commander duplighost no less." he said. If Oddball was scared, which he really most sincerely was, he didn't show it.

"Yeah, man! We Pichus aren't all cuteness and adorability, y'know! Just cause I'm small doesn't mean I'm a doormat!" Oddball said, hopping up and down defiantly in front of the 'Duplighost'.

"So it would seem." the duplighost said, crossing his arms. He added, in a bored tone. "You know, usually I would have had you thrown in the dungeon and maybe dismembered by now…"

Oddball gulped.

"…but luckily for you, I'm actually incredibly bored right now. I've been left alone in the Crystal Palace for a short while, and meditation has never been my thing." he said. He sat back down, studying Oddball. "So as long as you're here, why don't you help alleviate by boredom? We can have a friendly battle. You, versus my entire Pokémon team. Sound fair?" Oddball wavered slightly, but despite that, remained steadfast and stubbornly confident.

"I'll take you on any day!" said Oddball.

"So be it."

* * *

The duplighost pulled out his first pokéball. He raised it high about his head and said:

"Go, Tentadoop!"

He threw the pokéball out towards Oddball. It opened, and out shot a blinding light that quickly took the form of a strange being, resembling a mix of a jellyfish and a squid, with a blue body and red dome-like protrusions on its head.

Oddball scoffed. "A Tentacruel? I could defeat 30 Tentacruels with my hands tied behind my back!" He said, squatting down as if preparing to pounce.

"Maybe. I think you'll find that this Tentacruel is a little stronger than what you might be used to. Tentadoop, use Barrier—"

"Thunderbolt!" Oddball cried. He jumped in the air and a jagged bolt of lightning shot out of him, hitting Tentadoop head on. The jelly convulsed, before collapsing on the ground.

"-Huh?" The duplighost's jaw dropped. Had Tentadoop really been downed in one attack by a Pichu?

"Yeah, see, I told ya! 30 Tentacruels. Hands tied. Behind my back." Oddball said, crossing his arms triumphantly and standing on the collapsed squid. It took a moment for the Duplighost to regain his composure.

"Heh… No matter. He was far from my strongest. Let's see how you fare against this! Go, Rose!—"

The poor Roserade never even had a chance. The moment the pokéball opened, releasing the humanoid plant creature with bouquets for hands, Oddball jumped in the air again and somehow summoned a terrible Thunder strike down from the sky, instantly knocking the plant thing down.

"…Urk ." Was all the duplighost could manage. He cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably. "Well, that's still only two out of six. I better pull out my electric type if I want to match your firepower." He said, holding up another pokéball, while also calling Rose and Tentadoop back to their own pokeballs. "Go Rotom." He said, throwing the new one out. There was a flash of light, and a bizarre, ghostly, thingy, emerged from within the ball.

"What the heck is that?" Oddball wondered aloud. The new arrival, "Rotom", as the duplighost had called it, was no taller than Oddball himself, but had little to no body. Rotom had only a head, with two staring eyes and a tiny smile. The rest of its being consisted of a spire atop its head, a small ball-shaped protrusion on the bottom, and an aura of plasma-like energy that formed a protective shell, as well as what might have been either arms, rotors, or wings. Or all three.

"Use Shadow Ball!" The duplighost cried. The Rotom drew its arms back, charging a dark purple ball of pure darkness, and launched it at Oddball. Oddball jumped out of the way just in time.

"Thunderbolt!" He shouted, shooting out a jolt of lightning at Rotom. To his dismay, when the attack hit, all Rotom seemed to do was shiver slightly in discomfort.

"Hahaha!" The duplighost laughed. "Your electric attacks won't be very effective on Rotom, I'm afraid! He's an electric type, just like you!" He looked down at Rotom. "Ominous Wind." he said.

Rotom floated higher off the ground and held its arms above its head. Dark energy swirled around it, forming a mini-cocoon of purple energy. Then Rotom thrust its arms forward, and the energy spread out, forming a large wall of dark energy, that crashed into Oddball. Oddball cried out in pain, and was sent flying backwards.

"T-Thunder!" He managed to stutter out just before the attack finished. He lifted his arms to the heavens, and a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, hitting Rotom dead on. Rotom held him arms up reflexively, and visibly took damage. But not much.

"That isn't gonna be enough, Pichu. Rotom, why don't we show this mousey how it's done? Thunder!" the duplighost commanded.

Rotom curled its arms up, charging electric energy. It raised its arms skyward, and a terrible lightning strike tore down, hitting Oddball dead on. Oddball almost collapsed, but he managed to hold on, and he sent another bolt of Thunder back at Rotom.

This time, the attack managed to do something. The thunder crashed down with much more force than it had before, and Rotom didn't have time to brace himself for it.

A critical hit!

And Rotom collapsed on the floor.

"Curses!" the duplighost snarled, calling Rotom back to its pokéball. "Stupid lucky crits.". He reached down and pulled out another pokeball. "This one should be able to finish you off. Go Blaze!" He said, throwing the pokeball out. There was a flash of light (again), and a large monkey wreathed in flame emerged from the tiny ball.

"Use Close Combat, Blaze." The duplighost commanded.

And before Oddball had time to react, the ape was upon him, pummeling his body from every angle with a flurry of powerful punches. Oddball cried out in pain as probably a couple of his ribs cracked and maybe a femur or two as well. The attack ended, the ape retreated, and Oddball collapsed on the ground, thoroughly beaten.

* * *

Music for your listening pleasure:

Prelude - Wandering the Crystal Palace: Snow Wood Boarding House (Earthbound)

Challenged! Trainer Dooplex: Rival Encounter (Pokemon FireRed &amp; LeafGreen)

Battle! Trainer Dooplex: Trainer Battle (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum)

Chapter 1 of this thing. Kuh-raaaaazy.


	2. Chapter 2: Joke's End

"There we go." The duplighost said. "Blaze, return." He called back his fiery ape thing. "That was impressive", he said, towering over the crippled Pichu. "Nobody has ever lasted that long against my team. You really are something." He held out his hand and grabbed the Pichu by the arm. Instantly, the Pichu felt his bones mending as he stood up. "My name's Dooplex. How would you like to try training under me? I have a few choice fights I think you might like to help with. How does fighting a couple legendaries sound?" He offered. Oddball cricked his neck and glared up at him.

"Do I have a choice?" Oddball spat.

"Of course. You can train under me and become strong, or you can leave here and remain weak. The choice is yours." Said Dooplex, smiling smugly. Oddball stayed quiet for a moment.

"I need to get stronger." Oddball said, clenching his fists. He stared down at the ground, then turned his head up to look at Dooplex. "If joining you is what I need to do to get stronger, I'll accept without hesitation!"

"You already did hesitate." Dooplex pointed out.

"I did?"

"Yeah, just a little."

"Darn."

* * *

Dooplex snapped his fingers, and he and Oddball were instantly teleported outside the Crystal Palace. Oddball stumbled, trying to regain his balance.

"The first legendary on the list is Regigigas." Dooplex said, holding out his Pokedex. He tapped a few buttons and showed the screen to Oddball. It displayed a mighty colossus. Large, strong arms, somewhat stubby feet, yellow shoulder armor… stuff, moss growing out the top, it had the works.

"Wow, we're going to fight that?" Oddball asked. "I've been wandering the world for four years and I've never seen anything like that. Where are we going to find it?" He asked.

"It was lost to the world long ago. It sits in the deepest chamber of Joke's End, in the Beanbean Kingdom." Dooplex said, pulling up a map and showing Oddball the location.

"Wow. Wait, how do you know this—"

"Off we go!"

And then they teleported again.

* * *

The duo reappeared on a beach in front of a large temple-like building. It was built from what looked like bricks of ice, and had a large stairway on the front, with an even larger doorway at the top. The whole area looked strikingly similar to the Crystal Palace, although it was a little bluer as opposed to just shiny and sparkly.

"Wow." Oddball said, bending way back to look at the whole thing. "It's huge."

"Yup. Even bigger than the Crystal Palace even. The beast is hidden inside." He turned to the staircase. "C'mon, let's go." said Dooplex, beginning to walk towards it.

"W-wait!" Oddball interrupted. Dooplex turned to him in confusion. Oddball spoke again, "It's, uh, like, r-really cold. Are you sure about this?" He said.

"Uh, yes. I wouldn't have teleported us both here if we weren't both going to go in."

Oddball's ears were shaking with the cold. He shut his eyes tight for a second, and then started walking after Dooplex. "F-fine. But the next place we go to better not be this cold."

Dooplex chuckled. "You don't need to worry about that." And they both went in.

As it turned out, Joke's End was pretty much deserted, just like the Crystal Palace had been. Everything inside was the same light cyan color as everything else, and after a while it began to hurt Oddball's eyes a bit. The rooms were mostly very high ceiling-ed, with shelf-like ledges sticking out from the walls, making the walls look like something out of a Platform game.

Oddball and Dooplex slowly descended down the ice-cold labyrinth, and the lower they went, the colder and darker it got. Eventually it became dark enough that Dooplex needed to activate a light spell every few minutes to keep their surroundings visible. Eventually they came to a massive wide open room that seemed to go down forever, down a maze of staircases. Staircases twisted around each other, and sometimes it even seemed as if they moved when you weren't looking. Nonetheless, after much trial and error, Oddball and Dooplex made it to the bottom, and found themselves standing on plain stone ground, with a single door in front of them. Shivering a bit with anticipation (or cold), they walked through the door and entered a large room that was lit dimly by lamps suspended high above their heads. Pillars stood without pattern or reason, strewn randomly through the room.

Last but not least, a large and bizarre statue sat, on its knees, right in the middle of the room.

"Is that Regigigas?" Oddball asked Dooplex, pointing at the statue.

"That's what we're after. I'm going to wake it up, and you're going to help me fight it. That's alright, right? I could always just leave you outside to slowly freeze while I do it myself." Dooplex said. Oddball raised his paws defensively, taking a step or two back.

"Woah-hey, I didn't mean—"

"Hahaha. I'm just messin' with ya." Dooplex said, walking up to the statue and placing his hand on it.

…

"Uh, nothing's happeni—" Oddball began to say, before he was interrupted when the entire temple shook violently! Debris fell from the ceiling, dust swirled, and columns strained under pressure, and the statue in the middle shook harder than anything else. Then, it stood.

And then, it roared.

"REEEGIIIIGIIIIGAAAAAAS!"

* * *

Dooplex held up a Pokeball.

"Go, Rundas!" he said, and he threw it. A large golem made of ice emerged, with seven dots arranged in a wide plus pattern on its 'face'. It levitated about a foot off the ground, facing down the hulking behemoth in front of it, and showing no sign of even acknowledging its presence.

"Use Ice Beam!" Dooplex commanded. The ice golem (Rundas?) bobbed slightly, as if in agreement, and then shot a light blue beam out of the center of its plus-symbol of dots. The beam struck the massive colossus, who shuddered from the cold, and slowly put its arm in front of it to block some of the beam. It recovered quickly however. One would be hard-pressed to say whether or not it had actually been hurt.

"Reeeee…" It pulled an arm back. "…GI!" It shouted, swinging its arm forward, uppercutting Rundas with a powerful Superpower attack. Rundas was sent skidding backwards, although since it levitated, it really looked quite odd, skidding to a halt on air.

"Oddball!" Dooplex shouted to Oddball. "Do you know Thunder Wave?" He asked.

"Yeah, I know Thunder Wave! You want me to use it?"

"Yes! Regigigas has an ability called Slow Start, where it only fights at half strength for its first five attacks. We need to incapacitate it before it regains its full strength!" Dooplex explained.

"Got it!" Oddball said. He took off, scampering closer to Regigigas, then jumping in the air and firing a small wave of electricity out at Regigigas. The wave enveloped Regigigas, and eventually covered its whole body. Regigigas suddenly almost collapsed, as little bolts of electricity danced across its body. It was paralyzed.

"Good! Now, Rundas, use Ice Beam again! Try to hit it in the dots!" Dooplex shouted. Rundas came flying in from behind and shot another beam out, hitting Regigigas—you guessed it –right in the dots. Regigigas moaned in pain, holding its hands to its 'face' and stepping back.

"Reee, giii…. GIGAS!" Regigigas shouted, grabbing Rundas with both hands and crushing Rundas in its Crush Claw. Rundas fell back and sunk a little closer to the ground, presumably out of weakness.

"Shooooot! Uh, Rundas use Blizzard!" Dooplex shouted. Rundas raised its arms high in the air, creating a swirling vortex of snowy wind above its head, and swung its arms down, firing a humongous gust of snow and freezing wind at Regigigas. Rundas held the attack going for several seconds, until finally letting go and dropping ever so slightly closer to the ground.

Then, an arm shot out of the mist that was leftover from the attack, and Regigigas stepped out of the cloud, covered in ice and frost.

"Ree… re, gi…" It moaned, shuddering with the cold. It raised its arms high up, and prepared to lay a final blow on Rundas, who was too tired to get out of the way in time. "…reeegiiiGiiii…!" Regigigas swung its arms down, and…

"Thunderbolt!" Oddball shouted, shooting Regigigas directly in the dots with a bolt of lightning.

"GAAAAS!" Regigigas recoiled back from the blow, covering its face with its hands. Oddball landed on the ground shortly, before jumping back up in the air to deliver a decisive blow.

"THUNDE-!" He began to shout, before a black and yellow ball flew in from underneath him, hit Regigigas, and sucked the beast into itself. Oddball landed on the ground again, watching the ball carefully as it shook three times, and then audibly clicked.

Gotcha! Regigigas was caught!

* * *

Music for your listening pleasure:

Quiet: Item Room (Super Metroid)

Joke's End: Eterna Forest (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum)

Vs. Regigigas: Vs. Regi Trio (Pokemon Black 2 &amp; White 2)

Chapter 2 of this thing. Wacky.


	3. Chapter 3: Forever Forest

Oddball turned to face Dooplex, none too happy with this turn of events.

"What did you do that for, man?! I coulda finished him off!" Oddball huffed, gritting his teeth angrily at Dooplex.

"If you had finished him off, I wouldn't have been able to catch him. You probably wouldn't have been able to finish him off completely there anyway, and then he woulda just came back and crush grip'd you to death. I did you a favor." Dooplex explained, smirking and tussling Oddball's hair condescendingly. Oddball grumbled angrily and swiped at Dooplex's hand with his paw.

"What's our next target?" He asked.

"I thought you'd never ask." Dooplex said, pulling out his pokedex and pulling up a picture of another pokemon. This pokemon was shadowy black with a large, maw-like "collar" of red "teeth" things around its head, which was also shadowy black, but had blue piercing eyes and long white hair growing out of its head that stuck out backwards and wavering in the wind. It had no legs, instead floating, and had two shadowy arms ending in large claws. "This is Darkrai. He has eluded my capture for so long, but I finally learned, quite recently, wear he is stationed. So, we're going to the Forever Forest."

Oddball's eyes grew wide at the sight of the new legendary pokemon. His ears perked when he heard Forever Forest, though. "Forever Forest, eh? I've been there before. Nasty beasts in that place. You sure you wanna go out there?" Oddball asked.

Dooplex only laughed. "Oddball, if you were able to escape from those beasts, then I assure you, they were nothing like me. We'll be fine." He said. Oddball still wasn't so sure.

"Are you su-?"

He didn't have time to voice his concerns, though, because then they teleported.

* * *

They reappeared in front of a thick, dark forest.

"Here we are." Dooplex said, spreading his arms out to the trees. "The Forever Forest." He said, letting his arms fall to his sides.

Oddball shuddered, looking in, between he trees. A short way in, the world turned black and cloudy, as if everything was hidden by a thick black fog. Oddball thought he could see pairs of eyes, or dark forms, rushing through the blackness, but when he looked closer, he saw it was just the fog swirling.

"Creepy." He said, looking down and stepping slowly away from some flowers, which then turned and grinned up at him. He yelped. Plants shouldn't be able to grin, he thought.

"A little. I've seen much worse. I'll go in first." He said, walking into the trees. The black fog parted as he walked through it, seeming to be almost alive. Oddball scurried after him, voicing his worries.

"I don't like this place. It's not safe." He said, pattering alongside Dooplex on all fours. "You sure this is the Forever Forest?" He said, warily observing the area.

"Yes, although this is admittedly a much deeper part of the forest than I suspect you're used to. See, the forest works like a gradient. Near Toad Town it's almost perfectly safe, save for the the Fuzzies and Piranha Plants. But the closer you get to the far side, where the Dry Dry Desert is, the darker and foggier it gets, until you reach the end, where it drops off a cliff. You fall off the cliff, you fall loooooong way, and end up on the edge of the Dry Dry Desert. Ironically, it actually becomes less dangerous, as the creatures inhabiting the lighter side don't dare to come over here. About the only thing that lives out here is Darkrai, I reckon." Dooplex explained. Oddball nodded, listening.

"Okay, that makes sense. So I guess we're like, heading to the 'heart' of the darker side?" Oddball guessed.

"Correctamundo. At the heart of the forest is a small clearing with an even smaller body of water. On most nights, the moon is reflected square in the middle of the pool, and the whole clearing glows with an otherworldly light. I'd suspected it for a long time, but I'd never have guessed it would be Darkrai's 'home'." Dooplex said. He then fell silent, and Oddball decided not to continue the conversation.

This was ridiculous, he thought. Dooplex hadn't let him finish off Regigigas, and he surely wasn't going to let him finish off Darkrai either. He should have just turned around and walked away. With the fog, Dooplex wouldn't have noticed he was even gone until he was halfway across Plit.

But where would he go? He didn't have a home at the moment. The closest thing he had was a nondescript burrow nearby his original hometown, which he had run away from after a terrible calamity had struck the village. Nowhere he could go had as much probability of success as simply staying here and fighting with this ghostly fellow, even if he didn't get to truly 'fight' any big monsters.

So he would stay, he guessed. Not like he had anything better to do.

"We're here."

Speakin' a which…

* * *

The forest opened into a small clearing, with a shallow pool of water in the center. The moon shone down from the sky, dimly lighting the area, and casting a reflection in the pool.

Floating in the air, on the other side of the clearing, was Darkrai.

"There you are!" Dooplex said, pointing at Darkrai. Darkrai turned, and faced Dooplex. It spoke into the minds of those around it using telepathy, and spoke in short, deliberate, simple sentences.

_"Dooplex."_ it 'spoke'. It's mind-voice was loud in Oddball's mind, and grating. It sounded like it was coming through very crackly headphones. Darkrai turned its head slightly to look at Oddball.

_"You brought a friend."_ It spoke. It paused, then looked back at Dooplex, and gently levitated closer to the ground, coming to a stop maybe 2 feet above the ground. It tilted its head, as if confused. _"You are strong enough to fight me alone. Why did you bring the Pichu?"_ It asked.

Dooplex crossed his arms. "He's more like a tagalong. He wants to become stronger, so I'm helping him along." He said. Darkrai bowed its head and closed its eyes, thinking. Then, it lifted its head and spoke.

_"That's good. Someone who needs help should get it. You are good, Dooplex. More than I thought."_ It said.

"Wait, Dooplex, you know this guy?" Oddball asked, incredulously. Dooplex nodded, uncrossing his arms.

"Yeah, we've had a couple spars in the past. He's eluded my capture, and he's learned most of what he knows from me in the process." Dooplex explained. He added, "If it weren't for me, Darkrai would probably just be growling at you and assaulting your mind with random mess, as opposed to speech."

_"What of it?"_ Darkrai said, leaning forward a bit. _"I didn't need to talk. I could fight. I could kill. I could survive."_ It said, narrowing its eyes.

"Well you can't deny you're more agreeable now. You wouldn't be half as smart as you are now if I hadn't have come along." Dooplex said. Darkrai shut its eyes, shuddered, and relaxed very slightly opening its eyes to a dark glare.

_"Are you going to talk, or are we going to fight?"_ Darkrai asked. Dooplex sighed.

"So impatient, Darkrai. I thought I had taught you better than that." Dooplex said. "Very well. We'll fight. Go, Artemis!" He said, throwing out a pokeball. A very odd pokemon emerged from it, looking like a mix between a banana split, and crescent moon, and a duck. It floated in the air, like Darkrai, and stared down its opponent. Darkrai stopped, looking amused.

_"Cresselia?"_ It said. _"Weak."_ It said. It held its arms to its side, and started charging up some sort of dark energy. "This will be fast.". Darkrai then swung its arms forward, and shot out a Shadow Ball.

"Watch out, Artemis!" Dooplex shouted. "Use Light Scree—"

"Thunderbolt!"

Oddball jumped out in front and shot a thunderbolt out at the Shadow Ball. Against all odds, the Thunderbolt destroyed the Shadow Ball, and kept going afterwards. Darkrai's eyes widened for an instant before he was zapped.

It didn't do much though. Darkrai convulsed slightly from the shock, but he quickly recovered.

_"Good attack, Pichu."_ it said, charging up another Shadow Ball and throwing it. Oddball tried to get out of the way in time, but he was too late, and was blown aside when the Shadow Ball hit him. Darkrai looked back to Dooplex. _"Now, you."_ It said, holding its arms forward. A dark pulse came from its hands, spreading out over the area in front of him like a wave. It washed over Artemis and Dooplex, permeating their bodies with an unearthly chill and hurting them both.

Oddball lay on the ground a couple meters away, rubbing his head. He sat up, and watched Dooplex and Artemis get Dark Pulse'd.

"Rats…" He hissed. He then noticed that Darkrai was facing completely away from him. He forced a grin, got up, and charged.

"Thunderbolt!" He cried. Darkrai turned around instantly, but it was too late. Darkrai was again struck with thunderbolt. Dooplex had Artemis set up a Light Screen, now that he had a chance. Darkrai skidded backwards in mid-air, holding its arms in front of its head.

_"You're stronger than you look. I'll beat you first."_ Darkrai growled. It pointed at Oddball, and shot out a small dark orb. It flew at blinding speed, and collided with Oddball, sinking into his chest before anybody could react. There was a short pause. Oddball broke the silence.

"Uh, what'd you do—UHK." Oddball choked suddenly, as an orb of darkness began to form from inside him, trapping him. He gasped for air, but the orb did its work. A few seconds later, he collapsed to the ground, fast asleep.

"Dark Void." Dooplex breathed. He turned to Artemis. "We need to wrap this up fast. Oddball won't last long asleep with Darkrai close by." he said. Artemis nodded. Darkrai emitted a deep airy noise, as if chuckling.

_"Catch me if you can, Dooplex."_ Darkrai said, narrowing its eyes and preparing another Dark Pulse.

Nearby, Oddball writhed in his sleep, trapped in a nightmare.

* * *

Oddball woke up in a dark forest. The trees stretched up forever, and there was no sun shining. In front of him was a black silhouette. Oddball felt intense fear and hatred as he stared at it, and it stared back.

He was tackled from behind. He looked back and saw another silhouette, this one recognizable in shape as a Raichu. It had no face, save for a patch of whiteness where its face would be, on which there were two bloodshot red eyes that stared blankly. Oddball tried to crawl away from it, but the ground sucked in his paws and he couldn't move. The Raichu thing crawled over him and swung its head around to face Oddball's, hanging upside down off his back. Its eyes closed, and the next thing Oddball knew, the Raichu had become a jagged mess of black fur, and it was swallowing him whole in its massive red tooth-lined maw. Oddball tried to scream, but no sound came, and he tumbled down the dark, fleshy tube that he subconsciously supposed was the beast's throat. He fell into a dark abyss, and was suddenly aware of dark figures surrounding him. When he looked up, they were lit, and he could see they were crude stuffed toys resembling Chikoritas, Meowths, Wobuffets, you name it.

He looked all around, and saw he was completely surrounded. Then, for a moment, every one of the stuffed toys ignited, before bursting into red confetti and sprinkling toward Oddball. Oddball thrashed and spasmed, trying to claw the red confetti off his body, but it wouldn't give. It slowly covered his whole body, until only his eyes remained open. He looked out into the darkness, and saw a jagged line. It opened into a huge jaw with a thousand teeth, and came down to swiftly end the Pichu's miserable existence.

It froze in its tracks at the last moment.

A ball of light appeared.

And Oddball woke up.

Gotcha! Darkrai was caught!

* * *

Music for your listening pleasure:

Forever Forest: Old Chateau (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum)

Darkrai: Dark Samus Appears (Metroid Prime 2: Echoes)

Vs. Darkrai: Darkrai Remix by PokeRemixStudio (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum/PokeRemixStudio on Youtube)

Chapter 3 of this thing. Dayyyyum.


	4. Chapter 4: Flashback

When Oddball woke up, he was lying on his side, on the ground, close to the edge of the clearing. Artemis floated close to him protectively, and jumped when he woke. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Dooplex holding a pokeball, and Rundas floating idly next to him, as if awaiting further orders. Upon noticing this, Dooplex returned the floating ice golem to its pokeball and turned to Oddball. Oddball inhaled sharply, trying to regain his bearings.

"What… happened?" He managed to say.

"Darkrai hit you with Dark Void, and from then on, just being close to him was giving you horrible nightmares. I had Artemis move you as far away from Darkrai as possible without letting you out of my sight. Hopefully the nightmares weren't too terrible." Dooplex explained.

Oddball sat up, rubbing his head. Artemis examined him worryingly. "Yeah… they were pretty hellish. You caught him, then?"

Dooplex straightened up at this, holding his pokeball out and striking a triumphant pose. "You know I did. One Ultra Ball was all it took."

Oddball stood, and stumbled. Artemis rushed to his side, helping him up. "So…"

"Where to next?" Oddball asked, leaning against Artemis for support. He felt like the life had been sucked out of him.

"Well, first, we're off to a Pokemon Center. Gotta get my pokes fixed up. Then, we're heading for Shooting Star Summit." Said Dooplex, calling back Rundas and Artemis.

"Shooting Star Summit? Why for?" Oddball had been there before, and he certainly didn't remember there being anything interesting there, save for maybe a few Unown flying around.

"You'll see." Dooplex smirked. "You comin'?"

Oddball jumped slightly. He hadn't noticed that Dooplex had moved to the edge of the clearing. "Yeah, I'm comin'." He said. He did a quick once over of the area—he could have sworn he saw something off in the bush… "Yeah." He turned and followed Dooplex into the forest.

On the other side of the clearing, a small creature hid behind a bush and snarled contemptuously at itself. Its cover had been blown.

* * *

Oddball and Dooplex walked up in front of Shooting Star Summit about an hour later. Nothing much had happened on the short trip there, so the author had chosen to omit the trip from the story. Oh well.

Dooplex walked ahead, leaving Oddball to trail along behind him, checking out the bizarre scenery. Large metallic-looking stars stuck in the ground and falling down around you, yet somehow never hitting you. Purple ground of some sort—Oddball couldn't decide if it felt like stone or dirt—making up the path up the mountain, and small lines of bushes seemingly grown perfectly around the edges of the cliffsides.

The climb was long arduous, and… quite boring. Dooplex eventually broke the silence.

"It's been a while since I've actually walked anywhere." He said. "I'd forgotten how… boring it is." He continued, staring blankly at the path before him.

Oddball scampered up beside him. "I'll race you to the top." He suggested.

"Nnnnno. Let's not. I'm not a racing guy." Dooplex said. "Here, how about this. Tell me a little about yourself, Oddball."

"What?" Oddball said, not because he hadn't heard what Dooplex said, but because he hadn't been expecting it. "You wanna know about me?" He added.

"Yes, Oddball. I'm 135 years old; I've run out of amusement in my own life. Tell me something interesting." He explained.

There was a pause.

"Alright." Oddball conceded. "I've been trying to get this offa my chest for a while now, guess this is when it happens." He shifted uncomfortably. They reached the summit and began walking up the winding Star Road. "I told you how I needed to get stronger, right?" Dooplex nodded. "Yeah, well, here's why."

* * *

_Oddball was suddenly aware that he was lying on cold sand. He opened his eyes and found himself lying on the ground underneath a large cat. He yelped, squirming away from underneath the cat, who chuckled slightly, and spoke to him. He couldn't understand, but the tone was soft and non-hostile-sounding._

_Oddball felt himself ease up at its words. He loosened his grip on his tail, which he had instinctively grabbed out of fear. He looked up at the cat, who looked him in the eye and spoke again._

_Oddball's eyes widened when the cat thing stepped toward him. He hid his face in his hands, but it reached out and pulled his paws down. It spoke again. Oddball relaxed slightly, and the it took him by the arm and helped him to his feet._

_Oddball looked around. Surrounding him were others of all shapes and sizes. A small cat, even smaller than him, stared at him with amazement in its eyes. A slightly larger green thingy with four feet stood next to the meowth, observing Oddball curiously. Many more were gathered behind them, and Oddball shrunk slightly at the dozens of eyes staring him down. The large cat looked toward them and waved them away, barking annoyedly at them. The crowd dispersed, save for the small cat and the green thingy. The large cat took his hand and led him forward._

_The cat took Oddball in and raised him under its own roof, in a small town named Pokenet. Oddball grew up alongside the small cat and green thingy, fighting and playing, etcetera. He learned that he was a Pichu, that the large cat was called a Persian, and his name was Mike, and that the small cat and green thingy were called Meowth and Chikorita, and were named Thor and Wham, respectively. Oddball honed his natural skills in combat in sparring matches with Mike when he was maybe 12 years old, and when they got older, he would fight with Thor and Wham as well._

* * *

"Wait, um. I can probably skip this part actually." Oddball said, momentarily popping out of his story-telling trance.

* * *

_Nothing really important happened for a really long while. I think maybe Oddball occasionally asked Mike about his actual parents, but not much came of it. Mike would simply answer he had found Oddball washed up next to a river._

_Anyway…_

* * *

_Fire._

_Oddball woke up one morning in a sea of flames. He frantically escaped the burning house to find that Pokenet had been attacked overnight. The citizens ran this way and that, trying to escape the chaos._

_He ran along the dirt roads, searching for an un-blocked exit from the village, but to no avail. It felt like the entire town was encircled by a ring of fire._

_Eventually he decided he would hide. Yes, that was a good idea. He would hide somewhere where nobody would ever think to look for him._

_He scrambled into an empty house, long since abandoned, and took refuge in the attic. Part of the roof was already gone, Oddball found out soon enough. He hid in a nondescript corner, out of the view of somebody looking in through the hole in the roof._

_He heard voices._

_"Give me the pichu." A voice said in a sinisterly dull tone._

_"Over my dead body." Another voice said. Oddball recognized it! Mike was going to save them!_

_"Idiot."_

_There was an explosion, and a thud._

_Oddball heard frightened yelps. Wait… was that Wham's mother?_

_"Give me the pichu. I won't say it again." The assailant droned again. A deathly silence followed, and then an annoyed hiss as the area lit up brightly. Oddball heard something hit the ground with a thump, and then fluttering of cloth._

_And then, silence._

* * *

_Pokénet fell apart. Oddball was gone by the next morning._

_They wanted the Pichu? Ohhh, they'd get the Pichu alright._

_And Oddball was going to be ready when they came for him._

* * *

Music for your listening pleasure:

Shooting Star Summit: Shooting Star Summit (Paper Mario)

Flashback: Memory (Super Paper Mario) (all parts if possible)

Chapter 4 of this thing. Bombastic.


	5. Chapter 5: Hall of Origin

Dooplex nodded slowly as the two of them entered the sparkling city of Star Haven.

"Very interesting." He said.

The streets of Star Haven were brilliant. Lights sparkled along the sides of the paths. Stars, young and old alike, darted around, and the area above was filled with shimmering waves of aura. Above all that though, towering above all else, was a large sanctuary behind massive pearl gates. Starlight reflected off it in all directions, lighting the sky up with small flecks of soft light.

…

"How about you?" Oddball asked to Dooplex as they climbed up stone steps, heading toward the far-off sanctuary. "What's your deal?"

Dooplex turned his head to the side, his expression hardening ever so slightly. "My story is exceptionally long. I feel it would be much more conducive for us to focus on the matter at hand than to listen to me rattle on about 135 years of history." He explained.

Oddball raised his paw to counter-point, but stopped himself and let his hand fall to his side. He and Dooplex continued up the stone steps, eventually coming to the pearly gates seperating them and the starlit sanctuary.

…

"You're 135?" Oddball asked as Dooplex pushed open the gates.

"Ghosts tend to live a while." Dooplex answered simply.

* * *

Oddball and Dooplex entered the sanctuary with slight hesitation. You ever get that feeling like you just went into a place that you really didn't belong in? Something like that, for Oddball at least.

"Uh, are we allowed in here?" Oddball asked, tense in the forbidding atmosphere of the room.

"Well, ever since the Star Spirits…ceased to exist, it's been pretty quiet around here. People just kinda come and go a lot more than they used to. Why?" The duplighost replied.

"No reason." Oddball said, defenitely reasonedly. "Who are we going after again?"

"Arceus."

Oddball had to clean his ears to make sure he had heard correctly.

"Arceus. Arceus? You mean like, the god one?" He asked Dooplex, now even more hesitant.

"Yes, the god one. Hold on a second." Dooplex said, then reached into a pocket(?) and pulled out a thoroughly bizarre flute-like thing. Then, he held it to his lips and began to play…

* * *

_A waterfall. Crashing waves. Tripping and scraping your knee on_

_Mother's embrace. gentle words SCREAMING_

_BLOOD_

_silence_

_the landscape in front of you_

_Beautiful No_

_overwhelming_

_grass around you WHIPPING_

_pain_

_noise a static white noise Scraping metal_

_Sparks in all directions_

_no_

_Playing catch. Smile._

_stop_

_Your first steps. Laugh._

_too much_

_Ha. haha._

_please_

_A grave._

_why_

_Laughing._

_nononononononononononoSmilenononononononono_

_NononononnononoPleaseNononononononoLoveNonono_

_NONONONONONONOwhyNONONONOstopNONONONONOSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP_

_STOP_

It stopped.

* * *

Oddball opened his eyes to find he was crying. He looked over at Dooplex, who was also crying.

"W-" He started, hiccuping. "W-What was that…?" He managed to choke out. Dooplex grinned despite his tears.

"That, was the melody of the Azure Flute." He said, putting the bizarre wind instrument away. "The key to the Hall of Origin. Playing it forces every memory of every life through your head in a matter of seconds. If you can survive with your mind intact, you are said to be worthy of entering the Hall of Origin." Dooplex explained. Moments later, a staircase appeared that seemed to be made of pure starlight.

"So… Wh-Why did we survive?" Oddball asked.

"Well, I survived because I'm a ghost—I don't really have much of a mind to shatter. Just a soul and those are really hard to destroy. As for you…" Dooplex's speech faded into nothing.

…

"Yes?" Oddball asked.

Dooplex took the first step and turned sideways to look at Oddball. "Honestly, there was maybe an 80% chance of you dropping dead then and there." He explained, and then went off on his way up the stairs, leaving Oddball standing there dumbfounded.

"Wh—Bu-

H-Hey! You can't just- Get back here!"

Oddball ran up the stairs after Dooplex.

* * *

A short time later, Dooplex and Oddball reached the top of the stairs, Oddball having demanded Dooplex for elaboration on what he had said, and Dooplex having refused to comply. They stood at the end of a shining platform that seemed to stretch on forever.

Dooplex stepped forward.

"Here we are. Where this whole world began. The Hall of Origi—" He started, before he walked into something invisible and stumbled backward, holding his face.

"Ow.". He walked forward and felt in front of him. Sure enough, his hands met with an invisible wall. "Hey, what gives?!" He said, frantically feeling around the surface of the wall. "Why can't I get through?"

Oddball stepped forward, holding his hand out in front of him. "Maybe there's some kind of invisible field?" He wondered, walking forward…

…and walking right past Dooplex.

"W-What?! Wait!" Dooplex yelled, stepping sideways and trying to push his way through the invisible barrier where Oddball had walked through. "Why can you get through?! This isn't fair!"

Dooplex continued pounding on the invisible barrier, as Oddball turned back toward him.

"Maybe I'm just worthier than you." Oddball said, sticking his tongue out at Dooplex. Dooplex could only stand there speechless as Oddball turned and continued walking down the Hall of Origin.

Only, however, until Oddball was suddenly enveloped by a cloud of shimmering fog.

"What the heck…?" He said.

* * *

Music for your listening pleasure:

Star Haven: Star Haven (Paper Mario)

Hall of Origin: Hall of Origin (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum)

Chapter 5 of this thing. Whaaaaaaat?

shortie but a goodie


	6. Chapter 6: Where?

The next thing Oddball knew, he was standing alone, in a dark, dank cave. Spider webs covered the walls.

Oddball stood up, holding his head. His vision was cloudy, but he was able to make out an opening in the wall on the opposite side of the cave. He struggled to his feet.

His entire body ached with an incredible throbbing sensation, like something was slowly eroding his entire body at once. He shook his head to clear his mind, and made his way toward the opening.

Passing through it, he found himself in another room of the cave. The room was dotted with rocks that were short enough that he could see over them, but tall enough so that he couldn't dlimb or jump over them. Something was standing at the far end of the room, in front of an opening like the one Oddball had come in through. Oddball's vision was cloudy, so he had to walk forward and really focus to get a good look at the figure.

His blood ran cold. The figure was a Pichu like him, with a few key differences.

It had no eyes. Empty eye sockets stared across the room at Oddball.

It had no ears. Where its ears would have been, there were stitch marks, suggesting they had been removed. A thin dribble of blood crept down the Pichu's head, dripping from the the left set of stitch marks.

Finally, it was missing its left arm. Like the ears, there were stitch marks where the arm should have been. Another trail of blood came down from where the shoulder had evidently been stitched back together.

Its mouth hung open in a gaping expression. Oddball looked, and could have sworn he saw tears in its empty eye sockets.

Suddenly, it was running towards Oddball. It was weaving through the maze of rocks and was closing in fast.

When the stitched Pichu turned the last corner, Oddball panicked. Instinctively, he let out a jolt of electricity, and struck the Pichu in chest. The Pichu was predictably electrocuted, and collapsed on the ground in convulsions. Oddball ran, gunning for the opening in the wall that the Pichu had been standing in front of.

Oddball ran into the next room of the cave, and instantly regretted it. In the room were four more Pichus. Each one was stitched in a different place than the next, each one missing a different part.

Upon entering the room, every one turned to look at Oddball.

Time froze. Oddball looked around the room, not moving a muscle. His eyes found another opening on the left wall, this one lined with a wood frame like an actual door. Without stopping to think, Oddball ran for the door, all four amputee-chus chasing after him. fortunately, they were not as fast as Oddball was, and Oddball made it through the door into the next room.

The next room was almost empty save for a mechanical-looking door on the far wall. I say almost because there was in fact a Pichu standing in the middle of the room, missing both eyes and both arms, but sporting some particularly healthy-looking feet.

Oddball heard the door shut behind him.

It jumped.

Oddball yelped and dashed to the side, turning back to see the Pichu land hard where he had been standing moments before. It turned to him and jumped again. Oddball hopped back and the Pichu landed right in front of him. Realizing there was no way out of the room, Oddball mustered all the strength he could and zapped the Pichu with a bolt of lightning, causing a small explosion that sent the Pichu careening into the far wall. It didn't move again.

The doors opened. Oddball eyed the mechanical one and ran through it, finding himself in a lab room of some sort. The floor was covered in splotches of blood and who knows what else, and another Pichu stood in the middle. It had one large eye, one large, strong arm, and one large, strong foot on the other side. It quickly spotted Oddball and began to charge. Oddball, understandably freaked out, shot out a bolt of lightning but it only caused the beast of a Pichu to stop for a second before starting to charge again.

And so it went, Oddball getting chased in circles around the room by the hideous beast Pichu, until finally Oddball had zapped it enough for it to explode messily, scattering its three good parts across the room and not leaving a whole lot else. Suddenly, as if reacting to the death of the hulking beast, a door Oddball hadn't noticed on the far end of the room opened, and Oddball passed through it into an elevator shaft.

Oddball rode the elevator.

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

Oddball got off the elevator. All he could think, was that this was at least better than being attacked by zombie-chus.

Oddball was in a huge room, like a cross between a factory and a lab, with conveyor belts everywhere and one glass cubicle in the center. Oddball could see a dark figure with a mask in the glass cubicle, and it was holding surgery tools. Oddball turned his head to check out the rest of the room.

There was a scream.

Oddball jerked his head back the glass cubicle, and saw the figure pull out a syringe and inject something into something on the table. The screaming stopped, and all was quiet for a moment.

Then the figure noticed Oddball. And all hell broke loose.

And alarm sounded. The lights turned red, and the glass cubicle faded out of existence. The figure took a step toward Oddball, and Oddball ran. He ran for the conveyors, climbing up on them and running as fast as he could as the figure followed him on the ground, looking almost as if he would catch Oddball if he fell.

Oddball ran along the conveyor belts, stepping over what may have been body parts, he wasn't really paying attention. He thought he saw maybe a couple Pichu parts, but the rest were either other pokemon, or from species he didn't even recognize. He didn't give it too much thought, however, because as I said, he wasn't really paying attention to what was on the conveyor.

Of course, unfortunately for Oddball, conveyors end. He quickly reached the top of the room, where the conveyors rose into the ceiling. The figure still stood below him, looking up blankly at Oddball. Oddball decided not to take any chances. Into the ceiling he went!

* * *

So, as it turns out, the ceiling was a lot more cramped than he imagined it would be. He crawled through the tight space, his progress made even more grueling by the fact he was on a conveyor belt goes backwards, AND there were things on the conveyor belt, barely identifiable in the dark, but getting in his way nonetheless.

Slowly but surely, Oddball made progress. He could hear clanking behind him, though, so maybe he wasn't quite homefree yet. He could see a light ahead, however. Red, yes, but still a light. With a final push, he scrambled the rest of the way, and fell down a hole into a new room. What he saw left him speechless.

There were so many. Capsules, as far as he could see. Capsules ranging from tiny to gigantic, each housing a single pokemon. Pichus, Blazikens, Omanytes, some clean and some covered in stitch marks. There must have been hundreds, no, THOUSANDS...

Oddball couldn't take his eyes off of it. The gravity of it all was just a bit too much for him to just shake off.

That is, until a dark hand covered his eyes, and another grabbed him by the ear.

* * *

Next thing he knew, Oddball was on his back. There was a harsh light above him, and the figure stood, imposing and ominous.

It was holding a scalpel.

Oddball suddenly realized he was on an operating table.

Then, a feeling in his side. A needle. His senses dulled, and Oddball's eyes fluttered closed as the figure lowered his scalpel...

* * *

Oddball awoke. He couldn't see. It was too bright. He tried to move his arm, but he couldn't. His legs neither. He tried to speak, to cry for help, to do something, but no sound came out. His eyes adjusted, and Oddball saw capsules. Rows upon rows of capsules. His eyes saw a metal border around him. His eyes recognized a window. He was inside a capsule. He looked down.

His body was covered in stitches.

Oddball screamed.

* * *

Oddball woke up yet again. He found himself standing, and standing in the Hall of Origin nonetheless. He got up, and saw a cloud of mist in front of him. Dooplex walked out of the cloud of mist, holding an Ultra Ball.

Gotcha! Arceus was caught!

* * *

Music for your listening pleasure:

Waking Up: Peace Be With You (The Binding of Isaac)

Caves &amp; Catacombs: Penance (The Binding of Isaac)

The Lab: Latters Days (The Binding of Isaac)

Chapter 6 of this thing. Spooooky!


	7. Chapter 7: Pre-League Prep

"What... just happened?" Oddball asked, still quite shaken.

"I was hoping you could tell me. From my point of view, you had been stumbling around randomly for about 30 minutes, while I stood back and watched from behind that invisible wall. Eventually the wall disappeared, I guess, and I was able to go in and capture Arceus." Dooplex explained, giving Oddball a weird look. Oddball took a deep breath and put his hadn on his chest before continuing.

"I dunno, man, it was some sort of weird vision or something. I don't really want to talk about it." Oddball said, shuddering.

"Well, you'll probably want to reemmber it. I doubt Arceus would put you through anything horrible without a reason. He's a pretty reasonable guy." Dooplex pondered, putting his hand on his chin. Then, he looked back down at Oddball, arching one side of his unibrow. "Hey, dude, so you still need to get stronger?" He asked strangely casually. Oddball looked up at him with a strange mix of hopelessness and confidence on his face.

There was a hint of annoyance in Oddball's voice as the two began the long descent down to Star Haven. "Yeah. I haven't really been getting much experience from watching you catch pokemon." He said. Dooplex merely chuckled.

"Well, lemme tell you what. You ever heard of the Elite Four?"

Oddball was puzzled. "Yeah? Don't they only let trainers take the challenge, though?" He asked.

Dooplex smiled again. "Well, I have some connections. If you want, I could pull some strings and get you into the building. Four fights you'll never forget."

Oddball grinned, already hunkering down into a more offensive pose, ready to pounce. "I'm in." He said.

"Good. In that case, I'll see you in a little while."

And with that, pow, they were gone.

* * *

Oddball reappeared in a room that was wholly unfamiliar to him. The floor was tiles, the walls were a soft shade of red, and there was a counter with a lovely-looking Boo lady behind it, who was very obviously a nurse of some kind. In the corner of the room sat a Pianta businessman, decked out in Delfino-standard business clothes, with a huge backpack hanging from his back. Next to the counter was a large imposing door, in front of which stood an imposing blue-faced guard in a jet black suit and sunglasses, who was so buff Oddball physically backed up just from the sight of him.

Suddenly, Oddball realized they were all staring at him.

"Uh, Joy? Did that Pichu just appear in here out of thin air?" The Pianta asked.

"Sure did, hun." The Boo responded.

"Are pokemon even supposed to be in here by themselves?" He continued.

"No, they're not." The buff guard said in a deep baritone voice. "Sorry little guy, you're gonna have to get out of here." He said, walking towards Oddball and picking him up by the scruff of his furry collar. Oddball stood stone solid until he was picked up, at which point he worked up the courage to start protesting.

"Wait, you don't understand! Listen to me, I was sent here by a- I'm not just here because of whatever- Argh!" He yelled, thrashing hopelessly against the incredibly buff guard's grip. Finally, he got one good kick to the guard's stomach, causing him to stop for an entire second.

"Gee whiz, you're a handful, aren'tcha." The buff guard said, approaching the door as the Boo and Pianta giggled at the spectacle. The guard held Oddball outside the doors, ready to drop him and close the doors.

And he would have done that, if his walkie-talkie hadn't started buzzing right then. Still holding Oddball, he turned back into the building and pulled it out to answer. "What is it Doopline?"

A beautiful voice answered, like an angel crossed with a siren, Oddball thought. It was sing-songey, yet it had an authorative tone that just made you want to obey its every command without question. In fact, if it weren't for the fact it had a raspy quality awfully similar to Dooplex's voice, Oddball would have surmised that the guard was indeed talking to an angel over the walkie talkie.

"I just got word from the Champ. He says that if a Pichu shows up in the lobby, we should let him in." She answered. The guard raised his eyebrows and looked down at Oddball.

"Ya sure, milady? I'm holding a Pichu by the ears right now and I tell ya, I don't think he'd last a minute on the other side of that door." The guard asked. Oddball could hear a sigh of exasperation.

"He says this one's different. Let him in."

"Well... okay, if you say so." the guard said, dropping Oddball and walking back to his spot, standing in front of the door. "I guess that's that." The guard said. "When you wanna go through, I'll let ya in. I warn you though, it's not gonna be easy." He continued, facing Oddball.

Oddball got up off the floor where he had fallen, brushing himself off and eyeing the guard annoyedly. Damn right you'll let me in, he thought. I didn't fight three legendary pokemon today so I could get tossed out like some Rattata, he thought. He decided to ignore the part where he didn't actually fight Arceus. He approached the counter. "So, before I go on... what's your job?" He asked. The Boo lady scoffed slightly, pointing to the machine behind her.

"I heal the trainers' pokemon who want to challenge the Elite Four. I'd be able to heal you from any prior injuries you have have, but unfortunately the machine doesn't work without a pokeball. Sorry about that." She said, not soundign very sorry at all. Oddball approached the Pianta next.

"And what about you? You got anything that'd help me?" He asked the large businessman.

"Probably not, little dude." The Pianta answered. "Most of my stuff is designed for trainer use. I doubt you could figure out how to use these." He said, pulling out a Full Restore and a Full Heal, and putting them back away when Oddball's face turned to pure confusion. "Sorry man, looks like you're on your own for this." He said, shrugging. Oddball grunted in annoyance and turned to head for the door, when he was suddenyl face to face with a very eager looking Lakitu.

* * *

"Hello sir!" The Lakitu said, rubbing his hands together.

"Or madam. " His cloud chimed in from below. The Lakitu looked down at it.

"Buttermilk, he's very obviously a dude."

"Well, I dunno, maybe he's a transgender or something!" She retorted.

"Well, whatever." The Lakitu said, turning his head back to make unsettlingly unflinching eye-contact with Oddball. "Hello sir and/or madam! My name's Lakitodd! I couldn't help but overhear you're having some trouble with the fact that this place only has conveniences for trainers!" He said excitedly. Oddball bacdked away a step to have some breathing room, and answered.

"Uh, yeah, I guess I am. Why, what's your deal anyway?" Oddball asked apprehensively. Lakitodd grinned broadly and answered.

"Well then, little guy, are you ever in luck! I'm a traveling merchant who just happens to specialize in held items for pokemon!" He said, reaching into his cloud, inciting a yelp from Buttermilk as he rummaged through what was basically her insides. Lakitodd pulled out several held tiems, which Oddball could recognize as a Metronome, a Quick Claw, and a Leftovers. Lakitodd smiled excitedly. "Whaddaya think? This Metronome will make you stronger the mroe you use the same attack in a row! Oh, and this Quick Claw? This'll make you go first! ...Sometimes. And let's not forget this Leftovers! With this tucked under your belt, you'll slowlly regain HP!"

Oddball was interested no doubt, but he realized he was probably gonna need something really good to beat the Elite Four. "Listen, that's all great, but I'm gonna need something BIG if I'm gonna solo the Elite Four. I'm a Pichu, for pete's sake. I know I go on about small if powerful but a baby electric pokemon can only take so much. Do you ahve anything really good and unexpected?" He asked. Lakitodd's face darkened, but he still held his salesman grin.

"Ohohoho, a real connoisseur, eh? Well, I've got just the thing," he said, reaching into Buttermilk and pulling out a pale yellow berry that was spiky all over and quite honestly looked painful to eat. "This here's a new prototype I sto- I mean, picked up from a lab in Johto. It's a cross-fusion between a Citrus Berry and a Max Revive. With this in your possessin, you'll be brought back to full health if you're ever KO'd!" He said, holding the berry out. Oddball eyed it, amazed something like that could exist.

"I'm intrigued!" He said, but quickly realized something. "But... I have no money." He said sheepishly. At this, Lakitodd laughed.

"No money? No problem! With these items, your victory will be assured, and then you can pay me back with some of your prize money!" He said. Oddball's eyes lit up. Lakitodd's smile grew larger and he continued. "So take 'em! If you beat the Elite Four, it'll all pay for itself." he said, holding out the four items. "Pick three. I'd give you all four, but current league rules say a solo pokemon can only hold three items max." He said, rolling his eyes.

Oddball decided to take the Metronome, the Quick Claw, and the Revive Berry. After that, Lakitodd put on his best salesman smile, patted Oddball on the back, wished him luck, and went to go sit in the corner. Oddball, now ready as he'd ever be, approached the door to the Elite Four.

"You ready, little guy?" The buff guard asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Oddball replied.

"Alright." The guard said, moving out of the way. "Try not to get completely destroyed in there."

Oddball took a deep breath, and went through the door.

* * *

Music for your listening pleasure:

The League: Pokemon Center (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum)

Lakitodd &amp; Buttermilk: Mushroom Shop (Mario Party 1)

Chapter 7 of this thing. I'm intrigued! Can you explain to me the benefits of membership?

KNIGHTBRACE!


	8. Chapter 8: Elite Four Doopline!

Oddball walked into the room.

It was a fairly wide corridor, maybe 6 or 7 feet across. The floors were tiled, with a red rug in the middle that went up a flight of stairs to a door on a higher level. The walls were covered in red curtains with golden trim, and the entire room made Oddball feel like he was in a luxurious mansion. High above his head, fluorescent lights bloomed, lighting the whole room with a sterile, very slightly blueish glow.

Oddball's eyes turned back to the door. It was fairly large, though no bigger than the one he'd come in. It was a sliding door, made of very shiny and heavy-looking metal. A slit that ran down the middle told Oddball that it would probably open sideways. Big surprise, I know. Wooooaaaah...

Anyway, Oddball could find nothing of interest in the room besides the decor, so he went on, climbing the stairs brutally slowly (being a tiny mouse pokemon), and finally coming to the door, which slid open with a mechanical vwsshhhh when he approached, revealing a pitch black room on the other side.

This was it, Oddball thought. He breathed in deeply, and entered.

* * *

The door closed behind Oddball, sealing him in pitch darkness. Then, the lights came on.

This room was extravagant, the walls covered in red fabrics with golden trim, the floor covered by a circular rug of the same colors, with wooden walls and floor. Torches adorned the walls, held in what seemed to be solid gold, that lit up the room with a warm light.

Standing in the middle was a lady, or so Oddball assumed. She was a duplighost, like Dooplex, with pointed shoes/feet as opposed to Dooplex's round feet/shoes. She had a flat bottom to her sheet and a rather flat mouth, also unlike Dooplex, and while she lacked a unibrow, her eyes were cold and piercing, and seeemd to bore into Oddball's very soul. They were also blue. That was important.

Lastly, the duplighost had a wicked hairdo. It stuck up in three large spikes from her head and was hot pink through and through.

Finally, she noticed Oddball.

"Oh, hello." She said. Oddball instantly recognized the heavenly voice as the one the guard had been speaking with over the walkie talkie. "So, you're the one soloing the Elite Four, huh." She asked, not really asking.

"You bet I am." Oddball replied, jabbing his thumb into his chest. Doopline could see his knees shaking like a pair of maracas. "I'm Oddball. Remember the name." He said, his voice quivering almost unnoticeably.

"Very well, 'Oddball'," Doopline said, trying not to chuckle at the name. "I wish you luck in our fight. I train Psychic Type Pokemon. Are you ready to battle?" She asked.

"Ready when you are." Oddball said. He gulped.

"Alright. Come out, Lilith!" Doopline yelled, throwing out a pokeball. There was a blinding flash of light, and when it cleared, a female Meowstic was standing in the middle of the room.

"A Meowstic? You gotta be kiddin'-"

"Extrasensory."

Oddball stopped mid-sentence, confused. Why wasn't that Meowstic standing where she had been? And why did his head hurt OH GEEZ HIS HEAD HURT.

Oddball yelped out in pain, clutching his head and growling. He mentally cursed himself. He hadn't been prepared, and now he'd gotten flinched. As his horrific headache subsided, Oddball grit his teeth and spun around, quickly spotting the Meowstic (What was her name? Lilith?) and pouncing.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Sucker Punch."

Oddball felt a blow to his stomach. He gasped as he flew across the room, hitting the wall and landing on the floor. Gasping for breath, he looked up to see Lilith recovering. He grinned despite himself. His Thunderbolt had still connected. Forcing himself up from the ground, Oddball shot off another Thunderbolt, hitting Lilith in the side. Lilith cried in pain as she was sent hurtling into the wall opposite wall. She regained her composure quickly however, and she and Oddball met eyes from across the room.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Me First."

Oddball shot out a Thunderbolt. But, wait. Lilith shot one out first. How does that even work? Oddball thought as he flew at the wall yet again. He got up to see Lilith standing over him, a cold stare in her eyes. He shuddered involuntarily.

"Future Sight."

Lilith scowled, and her eye glinted. Oddball raised an eyebrow, shrugged, and blasted Lilith with another Thudnerbolt. Lilith flew across the room, crashing into the ground and, with the added power from the Metronome Oddball held, she didn't get back up.

"Come back." Doopline said, bringing Lilith backinto her pokeball. She turned to face Oddball before pulling out another pokeball. "Come on out, Cyto." She said, throwing out the pokeball. There was a blinding flash, and then a Reuniclus was floating in front of Oddball.

"Psychic." She said.

Then, Oddball was in the air. Then, Oddball was flying through the air. And then, finally, Oddball slammed into yet another wall. He shook violently as he stood. He could hear Doopline call out Calm Mind, and when he turned around, Cyto's eyes were closed, and it was barely moving.

Needless to say, Oddball capitalized on this ripe opportunity.

"Thunderbolt!"

A streak of lightning shot across the room, exploding violently against Cyto. When it cleared, it was clear that Cyto was already quite weak.

A critical hit!

Doopline growled. "Pain Split." She commanded.

Suddenly, Oddball felt a bizarre sensation, like the life was being sucked out of him. Looking at Cyto, it was clear Cyto was feeling about the exact opposite, as he began to look better and better. Eventually, it stopped, and Oddball felt about exactly half as good as he had felt before. Weird how that works.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Recover-"

It was too late. The Thunderbolt sped toward Cyto, exploding violently yet again. This time, when the smoke cleared, Cyto was on the floor, very much defeated.

Another critical hit!

Doopline hissed loudly, a horrifying sound compared to her beautiful voice. He withdrew Cyto and qucikyl threw out another pokeball. This time, when the light subsided, an Alakazam was floating in place, eyes closed.

"Do it, Magnifi."

The Alakazam's eyes shot open, and it began to glow. Out from behind it came a shining stone, floating in the air. There was yet another blinding flash of light.

The light faded, and Oddball's jaw dropped.

"Oh shoot."

Mega Alakazam.

"Spam Psychic!" Doopline shouted.

Oddball acted quickly, using Double Team and avoiding the first Psychic thrown his way. Using Double Team again, he ducked out of the way of the second, and contineud utnil he had six Double Teams under his belt. He had yet to be hit, and Magnifi was down six uses of Psychic. Doopline was gritting her teeth.

Then the Future Sight hit.

Oddball suddenly felt a blow to the back of the head, and he collapsed on the floor. Seizing the opportunity, Magnifi hit Oddball with a Psychic and threw him against the wall. Oddball's vision clouded, but he forced himself up, and charged forward. Magnifi prepared one final Psychic to finish Oddball off.

His Quick Claw activated, and he got yet another critical hit.

"Thunderbolt!"

There was an explosion. The Thunderbolt hit Magnifi right in the forehead jewel, and Magnifi grabbed his head in pain. Oddball jumped at the call and hit him with another Thunderbolt, somehow managing to fell the Mega Alakazam. Doopline was losing her composure.

"You gotta be kidding me!" She cried as Magnifi fell to the ground. Withdrawing him, she held her hand to her face and let out a frusterated shriek. Oddball smirked as he steadied himself. He was really wishing he'd brought those Leftovers...

Slowly, Doopline calmed down, and glared at Oddball. "You haven't beaten me yet." She stated flatly. Oddball's smug stance faded. "I still have one more pokemon."

"Bring it, I'm ready for anything." Oddball said. Though to be honest, he wasn't sure. He'd taken quite a beating already.

"Okay, if you say so." She said disinterestedly, throwing out on final pokeball. "Do your thing, Espi."

A blinding light, and then an Espeon.

And boy oh boy was it a beautiful Espeon.

Oddball realized he was not, in fact, ready for anything.

* * *

Oddball felt his mouth hang open as he stared at the beauty in front of him. The delicate snout, the smooth and flat ears. The slender legs, and the pretty little tips they came to. The luscious torso and the ample curve of the haunch...

And the eyes. Oh, the eyes. Wells of swirling purple and lavender, deep enough to lose yourself forever.

Woah.

Suddenly, Oddball realized what he was supposed to be doing. Shaking his head vigorously, he stared down the Espeon, Espi, again.

He was quickly lost in her eyes again. Realizing this and shaking it off, he opted to stare at something else. Her snout. No, that doesn't work. Her ears. Noooo, that won't do either. Legs? Woaaah, nope. Tips. Nononono. Torso. Oh geez. Haunch? Ha. Haha, riiiight.

Finally, Oddball figured out he couldn't simultaneously focus on the battle and look at her at the same time. He looked off to the side.

Espi looked back at Doopline. They both smirked.

Attract, Doopline mouthed to Espi. As Espi began the move, Oddball looked back up, and froze.

Espi was sauntering slowly toward him, swinging her hips from side to side. Oddball felt himself blushing furiously as she continued her brutally sexy walk, coming to a stop mere inches from his face. Espi looked down and to the side, looking up at Oddball with the most adorably sad eyes she could muster. Oddball felt himself once again get lost in her eyes, but this time he didn't have the focus to shake it off. Slowly, Espi lifted her face, and touched her nose against Oddball's for a second before beginning to circle him, rubbing her body against his. Oddball felt his body tense as he slinked around him, stopping with her head on his right side. Then, she leaned in to him, resting her head on his, before turning and delivering a kiss on the cheek.

Oddball melted, to say the least. Any focus he had had on the battle was gone. He was completely and utterly infatuated. He slouched, his eyes glazing over as he stood there, frozen. Espi continued to lean against him. Oddball felt his mind fade away as he could think only of Espi, his one true love.

Suddenly, there was pain. Oddball was in the air, pressure on him coming from all sides, and then he was hurtled toward the wall. He collided with the wall and slid to the bottom. Ouch, that hurt, he thought, halfheartedly. His mind was still filled with thoughts of Espi as he lay there, pain shooting through his whole body. Slowly, he got up and turned to see Espi and Doopline standing where they had been before.

His head cleared for an instant, and he realized that Espi had just attacked him. Growling, he began a Quick Attack.

Unfortunately, Espi came prepared and used charm, turning and wiggling her rear in his general direction before winking. Oddball felt his heart melt again, and while the Quick Attack still hit, it hit with all the force of a two-year old Sunkern. Oddball landed on the other side of Espi, and turned back to her.

Just his luck he would turn around right into a Captivate, as Espi reared up on her hind legs, putting her forelegs behind her head, winking, and then giving Oddball the biggest "come hither" look of his life. Oddball's eyes glazed over again, and he lost focus. Next thing he knew, he was flying through the air, and it was back to square one.

This time, his head cleared again and he jumped to his feet, spinning around and pouncing, ready to deliver a Thunder right to Espi's stupid...

beautiful...

He stopped in midair and fell to the floor. What had he been doing?

Then, he was in the air again. He hit the opposite wall, and practically jumped off the wall at Espi, hitting her with a Thunderbolt. Espi was knocked aside, letting out a cry of pain. Oddball instantly melted again, horrified at what he had done. He rushed to her side, and gently touched her face.

He was thrown against the wall again.

"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF" Was all he could muster, jumping high into the air and calling down a Thunder on Espi, who lay with her back on the floor.

He landed a crit, and Espi was defeated. She slumped to the ground, lifting her head up to give Oddball one last unbearably sad look, before she collapsed and Doopline called her back. She was in tears. Had she been laughing the whole time, and Oddball hadn't even noticed?

"Hooooooooooo, man. You know, I don't even send Espi out as a last resort." She said, wiping her eyes and giggling. Oddball turned to her with an incredibly hard to read expression on his face. He was still blushing. "Honestly, Magnifi might as well be my last pokemon. I just love sending Espi out to see what happens." He explained, putting a hand to her face, still giggling intermittently.

Oddball was not amused. Doopline looked up at his bizarre expression, and pointed toward the door behind her.

"You have defeated me. You may now proceed to the second Elite Four member. Good luck." She said as if she had said it a million times before, before returning to giggling. Oddball simply walked past her as she devolved into a laughing fit yet again, and went through the door.

* * *

Music for your listening pleasure:

The League - Part II: Decisive Battle! Pokemon League (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum)

Challenge! Elite Four Member: Enter Elite Four! (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum)

Vs. Elite Four Doopline!: Vs. Elite Four (Pokemon X &amp; Y)

Chapter 8 of this thing! Sexaaaaayyy.


	9. Chapter 9: Elite Four FLUDD20!

Oddball walked into the room.

This room, or corridor, was also about 6 or 7 feet wide. The floor was tiled and reminded Oddball of a swimming pool, and the entire floor was covered in a shallow layer of water. Small waterfalls trickled down the walls, and water flowed from grates next to the door at the top of the stairs, flowing down the stairs in a cascade of shimmering... well, water. Like the previous corridor, it was lit by fluorescent lights high above, giving the room a sterile blueish glow.

It took Oddball all of three seconds to figure out his next opponent would probably use Water Types. He smirked, and continued forward, walking through the door into the next room.

* * *

The room was pitch black, like Doopline's. Oddball could hear running water. Then, the lights came on, and the room was revealed to be... Pretty much exactly what he had expected, given the previous room.

He was standing on a rectangular raised arena made of the same pastel-colored tiles as the floor before, and around the arena was a moat of water. Looking into it, Oddball found that he could not in fact see the bottom. Waterfalls flowed from the walls, and standing in the middle of the room was...

was...

What... was that, exactly?

It was a robot, of that he was almost certain. It had a glass tank for a body that was mostly filled with water. It had four limbs (woah how spooooky), each tipped with what looked like a nozzle. It's head was strangest of all. Atop a weirdly prehensile-looking neck was a round yellow ball with a small spike on the back and a huge nozzle coming out the front. The yellow ball had two large eyes on the sides.

It spoke.

"Oh GREAT, another Electric Type." It said. Oddball quickly realized it was a female. "Do you want me to just let you through now, or what?" She asked.

"Um, yes please, actually." Oddball admitted.

"Well too bad. Protocol states I have to fight you, so let's get this over with. I'm F.L.U.D.D.2.0, or the Flash Liquidizer Ultra-Dousing Device... 2.0. I train Water Type pokemon. Ready to win?" She said, holding out a pokeball.

"Am I ever!"

"Alrighty. Go, Nitori." She said. There was a blinding flash of light, and when it cleared, there was an Azumarill lying on the floor, knocked out. Oddball had already hit it with a Thunderbolt. FLUDD2.0 sighed. "Yeah... I think can see where this is going. Go Lance." She said, throwing out another pokeball while returned Nitori to hers. When the blinding flash subsided, she was greeted with the sight of a Starmie lying face first on the ground. Her eyes narrowed as she recalled Lance, and held out another pokeball. "Fine. Leviathan. Do your thing." She said. There was a blinding flash, and then a glowing shine, and then Oddball was staring down a Mega-Gyarados.

Which quickly went down with two more Thunderbolts.

"Hummmm..." Was all FLUDD2.0 could muster. Holding out one last pokeball she said, "Well, you've forced my hand. Prepare for the most dangerous blah blah blah blah go Nessie." She said, tossing the pokeball out. There was a blinding flash, and when it subsided there was...

...nothing? Oddball was certain he'd shot a Thunderbolt, so where was...

"Ahahahaha." FLUDD2.0 laughed. "That's my Milotic. Watch out little guy, she's comin for ya." She said.

* * *

Oddball looked frantically around the battlefield, but could find no sight of any kind of Milotic. He looked back at FLUDD2.0, who simply smirked. Or she would have, if she had a mouth. Oddball continued searching. He ran to the side of the arena, and looked into the water. Seeing nothing, he turned away.

He never saw it coming.

The next thing Oddball knew, he was caught up in a Twister. He spun in the air, and shortly afterwards plummeted into the water. Sinking several feet down, he could now see that the water extended underneath the arena, which simply floated in place. He wasn't quite sure though, because the entire area underneath the arena was pitch black.

Suddenly, a high-pitched moan rippled through the water. It was beautiful, yes, but it terrified Oddball for one very simple reason: It meant he wasn't alone. Sure, he already knew that, but the moan kinda cemented the fact.

He swam forward a bit, clumsily due to the fact that he wasn't really very hydrodynamic, if that was even a word. Failing to catch even the slightest glimpse of the beast he was fighting, he swam to the middle and looked around. From here, he'd be able to make out its sillhouette against the dimly lit sides of the room. He smirked.

...

Wait, he thought. That doesn't help me if it attacks me from belo-

Aaaand there it was. Oddball was sent hurtling through the water by what was probably a Water Pulse, because it hadn't made contact. Oddball hit the side of the room, pain shooting through his skull when he hit the wall headfirst. He was severely weakened. One more hit like that and he was definitely done for, he thought. Looking around more, still completely unable to see a damn thing, pangs of panic began to well up in Oddball's mind. Was this it? Had it all come to this? All his life, he was destined to end up as a Milotic's lunch? It couldn't be, no way. But look, Oddball!, he thought. There's nothing you can do. Oh geez, was he arguing with himself? There must be something! No, there's nothing. Just lie back and accept your death.

HERE IT COMES

Daaaadum

Daaaadum

DUM-dum DUM-dum DUM-dum DUM-dum DUM-dum DUM-dum DUM-dum DUM-dum

DanananAAAAAAAAa

DanananAAnananAAAAAAAAAA

DUM-dum DUM-dum DUM-dum DUM-dum

DUM-dum DUM-dum DUM-dum DUM-dum

DUM-dum DUM-dum DUM-DAH DUM-DAH

Wait a second, he realized.

He was underwater.

* * *

Oddball climbed up the side of the platform. He walked calmly past FLUDD2.0, shaking himself dry as he walked. He walked through the door behind her as she stared at him, nozzle hanging open.

"Water conducts electricity, you know." He said.

The door closed.

* * *

Music for your listening pleasure:

Vs. Elite Four F.L.U.D.D.2.0!: Vs. Elite Four (Pokemon Black &amp; White)

Chapter 9 of this thing! Short.


	10. Chapter 10: Elite Four Yori!

Oddball walked into the room.

This room, wow, I mean, WOW. It could not have been clearer what type Oddball would be fighting in the next room. Like, if there was an award for clarity, this room would win the prize every year, and every other contestant would skulk away in the deepest shame. Who knows where they'd put the medal. Or the award. After all, it wasn't like the room had any sort of body. Maybe the Elite Four member would handle the prize? That would make sense.

There was a lot of fire. And magma. Just a comically absurd amount of fire and magma. Or was it lava? I guess it was probably lava. Pouring down the walls, erupting from the ground, you name it. The ground was ashen and black, like Oddball was walking through a volcano. It was draped in a tattered carpet with some crazy cultural patterns on it that Oddball probably would have recognized if it weren't for the fact that Spanish cultrue didn't exist on the planet. As such, he mostly ignored the carpet and carefully navigated the room, avoiding the many spouts of lava and fires that just kinda casually sat in really inconvenient places.

He reached the end of the corridor and went through the door.

* * *

Another pitch black room. Oddball could smell food, but he couldn't quite place what it was. Some kind of meat? It smelled really good, anywho.

Suddenly, torches around the walls began to light up one by one, slowly illuminating the room. Oddball examined the room, and found it to have a lot less to do with fire and lava and a lot more to do with fancy carpets and tapestries in warm colors. Sitting in the same position relative to him that Doopline and FLUDD2.0 had been in in the previous rooms was a fire pit with one yoshi and five pokemon sitting around it. Oddball could identify them as a Blaziken (was it female?), a Simisear, a Darmanitan, a Magmortar (that one mighta been female too), and a Magmar. Guess he knew what he'd be fighting this time around. That was nice.

All of a sudden, the Blaziken noticed him.

"Hey Yori." She said. Yep, definitely female, Oddball thought. "Looks like we've got a challenger."

The yoshi looked up from the fire pit. He was a brilliant shade of red, with the slightest hint of orange, and he had a blazing orange mohawk sticking up from between his eyes. He was also fiarly short for yoshi standards. Maybe two and a half feet, Oddball guesstimated. He smiled, opening his eyes wide.

"Ah, goody!" He said. "It's been a while since anybopdy's gotten this far. Most people get hung up on FLUDD2.0, but looking your over..." He continued, seemingly scanning Oddball with his eyes. "I'm bettin you didn't have any trouble with THAT, now did ya." He said, chuckling.

"Of course not." Oddball replied, striking a triumphant pose. "I'm an Electric type, you kno-"

"Yeayeayeayeayeayeayeayeayeah I know you're an electric type. I can tell that from the fact that you're a Pichu, a'ight?" Yori said, cutting Oddball off. He stood, stretching his back with a loud cacophony of cracks. "Ggggghaaah, sitting in that position for over three hours does NOT do wonders for your back, lemme tell you what. Alright, Freezerburn, you're up." He said, motioning to his Simisear.

"Cool." Freezerburn said, getting up and leisurely walking to the middle of the battlefield.

"Wait." Oddball interrupted. Yori and Freezerburn both raised an eyebrow. "Why is your Simisear named Freezerburn?" He asked.

"It's because he's chill." Yori explained.

"...Oh."

"And I burn people." Freezerburn continued. "Like this!" He said, snapping his fingers. Suddenly, four floating flames appeared in front of him. They floated in place for a second before homing in on Oddball.

"Gah! Waitwaitwait-" Oddball panicked, trying to dodge out of the way. Unfortunately, as the four flames had homing properties, they all turned towards him and spread all over his body. It didn't hurt him, but the Will-O-Wisp did leave him burned. "Dammit, you- Thunderbolt!" He stuttered out, firing off a bolt of lightning at Freezerburn.

"Woah-" was all Freezerburn had time to get out before the bolt of lightning hit him in the chest, sending him flying backwards, over the campfire. Yori's other pokemon all ducked as he flew over.

"Ooooo...!" They said simultaneously, when Freezerburn hit the back wall headfirst. Freezerburn got up slowly, grunting and giving a sort of half-glare to Oddball.

"Boy, you pack a lot of punch for a Pichu." He said, moseying along around the campfire, just takin' his sweet time. "Let's see how you like THIS!" He said, snapping his fingers again. This time, his fingers lit up like a lighter, and then he crossed his arms over himself, whipped them down across his body, and lit himself ablaze.

Then, he charged faster than Oddball could see, hitting Oddball hard with a Flame Charge. Oddball flew backwards, hitting the ground at an awkward angle and rolling several feet before coming to a stop. When he got up, he saw that Freezerburn looked quite a bit faster than he did a second ago. Don't ask how, he just looked faster.

"Can you hit me when I'm at +1 speed, little guy?" He said, before jumping up and landing behind Oddball. Oddball turned toward him.

"Of course I can. Speed doesn't affect your Evasion." He said, before hitting Freezerburn with another Thunderbolt.

"Oh yeah-" He said before getting sent flying across the room again. Hitting the ground, he quickly got up and snapped his fingers again.

"Fire Blast!"

"Thunder!"

It was over. Both attacks hit, but only Oddball could remain standing, as Freezerburn fell flat on his face the moment he was done being electrocuted. Now, with a moment of respite, Oddball cringed at a pain he had forgotten about. His burn was really doing a number on him. If he didn't get this battle done soon, he wasn't going to make it.

Freezerburn held up a white flag. Yori spoke up.

"Good job, Freezerburn." He said. "You're up, Maraca."

The Darmanitan got up from its seat next to the Blaziken. Yawning, it turned to Oddball. "Alright, let's get this over with little mousey."

Oddball stopped. Darmanitan's are strong, he realized. If that thing hits him, he's done for...

If...

"Double Team!" he said, splitting into two copies of himself. Giving a guttural growl, Maraca let loose a Fire Punch, but succeeded at hitting only Oddball's copy, and thus, did no damage.

"Double Team!" Oddball said again. Maraca's eyes bolted to the real Oddball, as he was the only one who had said it, but when he looked, there were two Oddballs. Looking back, the copy from before was still bouncing around, and by the time he turned back to where the real one had been, he had lost track of which was the real one. Sighing, he threw another Fire Punch at the closest one, and to his utmost not-surprise, it did nothing.

"Double Team!" Oddball said again and again. More and more copies of Oddball sprouted up, bouncing around. Maraca threw Fire Punch after Fire Punch, but he couldn't find the real one for the life of him.

Then he saw it.

One of the Oddball's was burned.

"Flare Blitz!" Maraca shouted.

"Uh oh." Oddball said, realizing Maraca had recognized him. "Thunder!" He shouted. A giant bolt of lightning descended from who-knows where, hitting Maraca right between the eyes, and knocking him out mid Flare Blitz, an inch from Oddball's face. Shuddering, Oddball looked over Maraca lying in front of him, and found something interesting...

"Uh, well, good try Maraca. Stupid Double Team..." Yori said. "Alright. Hellfire, Bunsen, you give it a shot." He said, gesturing to his Magmortar and Magmar. Suddenly, he heard a rough chewing noise. Looking up, he saw Oddball eating something. Something blue.

"Maraca! Why did you have a Rawst Berry?!" He said, as Oddball's burn disappeared.

"I was hungry..." Maraca mumbled, still face down on the floor.

"It doesn't matter." The Magmortar, Hellfire said, in a deep, somewhat husky, motherly voice. "He doesn't stand a chance against me and Bunsen anyway."

"Yeah! Especially with my Eviolite, he won't even be able to scratch me!" Bunsen said, hopping from foot to foot eagerly.

"Flamethrower!"

"Fire Blast!"

Toegether, the two of them shot out a giant flame. It shot forward into the horde of Pichu copies before exploding in a 5 starred pattern. It didn't hit the real Oddball, but it did eliminate a few clones.

"Shoot." Oddball said, realizing he only had two copies left. "Um, uhhh..."

"Flamethrower!"

"Volt Tackle!"

Oddball charged forward, avoiding the Flamethrower, and plowed right into Hellfire's belly. Hellfire was hurt quite badly, and she stumbled a bit, but it would still take probably at least another one of those to take her out, Oddball realized.

Unfortunately, there was at least one other person who was free to attack Oddball at this point.

"Fire Blast!" Bunsen yelled. Oddball barely had time to jump off of Hellfire before the Fire Blast exploded on her, hurting her further.

"Bunsen!" Hellfire yelled after recovering from the two attacks.

"Sorry mom!" Bunsen replied.

"Volt Tackle!" Oddball yelled, charging at Hellfire again.

"Huh? Oh, shoot-"

Hellfire was hit in the stomach yet again. She let out a terrible cough, and skidded backwards, where she fell backwards and landed on her back. She was out.

"Mom!" Bunsen yelled, before turning back to Oddball. "Oh you've done it now." He said, charging up power and starting to shake.

"Uh oh." Oddball gulped.

"Overheat!" Bunsen yelled, throwing his arms up. Fire exploded everywhere, searing the entire room. Yori and the Blaziken ducked and covered their heads as the bonfire roared and the tapestries around the room burt into flames. Oddball received the worst of it, being blasted right in the face with searing flames and losing the rest of his copies as well. When it was all over, Oddball was barely standing. Bunsen too. His arms dropped, and he fell to one knee.

He dropped his Eviolite. Oddball watched as it fell in slow motion and landed right in front of him.

...

"Oh crud." Bunsen said as he realized what had just happened.

"Oh yes." Oddball said, tossing away his Quick Claw to make room for the Eviolite. Looking Bunsen in the eye, he grinned. "Thunderbolt."

Bunsen fell to the ground.

* * *

"Well that complicates things." Yori said, eyeing Oddball's new Eviolite.

"Ah, it probably won't be a problem." The Blaziken said. "Even with that Eviolite, I doubt he'll be able to stand up to me. I mean, he's just a Pichu."

"I guess." Yori said, looking back to the bonfire. "Yeah, I mean, he's just a Pichu. Of course." He said, chuckling. He looked back up at Oddball. "Hey, Pichu!" He yelled.

"Yeah?" Oddball said, grasping his new rock tightly.

"You ready to fight Desirée here?" He said, motioning to his Blaziken. Desirée smiled sweetly and waved.

"Uh..." Oddball said, wavering. Even with the Eviolite, he wasn't sure.

"If you don't think you're quite ready, you can rest up a bit. I don't mind." He said, shrugging. Oddball's eye widened.

"Really?" He asked.

"No."

"Rats." Oddball said, crossing his arms.

"But here." Yori said. Oddball looked up and, using his quick little mousey reflexes, caught a yellow berry out of the air. "Have a Sitrus Berry. This will be more interesting if you have a fighting chance." He said, grinning.

* * *

So, apparently Desirée was a big deal.

When Oddball was finished eating the Sitrus Berry, Desiré had whistled out a bird call. Suddenly, a small pack of assorted bird pokemon had descended from small holes in the ceiling, with bug pokemon on their backs. They had begun constructing something in the middle of the room.

And now, there was a boxing ring, complete with String Shot ropes.

"Alright, Desirée. Give it your best, even if it might not be necessary." Yori said to Desirée as she got up, stretching.

"What's all this about? Why do we need a boxing ring for one pokemon?" Oddball asked.

"I just feel more comfortable fighting in a ring, is all." Desirée said, straightening her feathers. She jumped high into the air, coming down in the middle of the ring. "It's like I'm in my element."

"Just get in, would you?" Yori said.

"Fine." Oddball obliged, climbing into the ring. Standing up, he saw Yori standing behind Desirée, who had to kneel so that Yori could massage her shoulders.

"Alright, Desirée, you know the strategy." Yori said, draping a towel aeround her shoulders. "Just beat the crap outta him, okay?" He said. Desirée nodded, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before standing up. Yori stepped back, and Desirée began to glow brightly.

There was a blinding flash, and Desirée was a Mega Blaziken. Oddball gulped.

"Fight!" Yori yelled from the corner.

"Thunderbolt-AAAAAH" Oddball tried to shout, but he was caught in the side of the head with a strong kick. Stumbling to the side, he hardly had a chance to regain his composure before a second kick came to meet the other side of his head, sending him sailing into the ropes. Yori pulled out a remote and pushed a few buttons, and flamenco music started playing from somewhere.

"Owwww..." Oddball moaned, getting to his feet. He looked up, and Desirée was already coming at him with a fiery kick. Thankfully, he was able to dodge out of the way.

"What?" Desirée breathed when she realized her kick hadn't connected. Suddenly, she was hit in the back with a Thunderbolt.

"Hah! Take that!" Oddball gloated. Desirée spun around, and before Oddball could react, he was clocked in the chin with a High Jump Kick, sending him flying into the air where Desirée was able to jump up and hit him with a downward Blaze Kick, sending him rocketing into the ground. If it weren't for the Eviolite, he'd have been knocked out.

Oddball slowly got up, trembling. Turning around, he saw Desirée land, and prepare for another High Jump Kick. He watched intently, and at the last moment...

"HAH!" He shouted, dodging to the right at the last possible instant.

"Waaaaugh!" Desirée yelled, flying into the air, flailing like, well, a bird, before crashing face first in the ground. Yori cringed.

"Thunderbolt!"

The bolt of lightning shot across the ring, hitting Desirée in the back. Her back arched as she screamed. It was a critical hit.

She wasn't done yet, though. Hopping to her feet, she began to do a quick little two step to the beat of the music. Breathing heavily, she centered her gaze on Oddball, who waited anxiously. Finally, on her last legs, she shouted out.

"Reversal!"

"Thunderbolt-HHGCK!" Oddball choked as Desirées leg swung into his stomach. There was a loud crack, and he was sent sailing into the ropes. Before his vision faded, he could see that he had at least gotten his Thunderbolt off, and that Desirée was barely standing. He fell to the ground, his body numb, and his mind fading.

No. This couldn't be how it ended. He had to... ggghhh...

hhhhggg...

Ghhhhhhhh...

...

* * *

"Um, okay. Desirée, that was good, but next time, maybe try not to kill the challenger?" Yori said, coughing.

"Hahh... hahh..." Desirée almost replied, panting heavily, her whole body trembling. "He... heee... He sure put up a fight... for a Pichu..." She said, shuddering and wide-eyed.

Yori hopped into the ring as Desirée fell to her knees. He quickly grabbed her by the shoulders, draping a towel over them once again. "Easy there, girl." He said, as she continued to pant heavily. "Here, I'll go round up the rest of the gang, we'll rest up at the campfire." He said. Desirée nodded, slowly standing up and turning to leave the ring.

"Gggghhh..." came a sound. Yori turned, and found that the sound came from Oddball, who was slowly struggling to stand. Yori's eyes widened as Oddball's energy seemed to reappear, even if only a tiny bit.

"Volt Tackle!"

"Desirée! Watch out!" Yori yelled. Desirée turned her head and

CRACK!

Oddball collided with Desirée's back with a sick crunch. She let out a strangled squeak as she flew out of the ring, over the fire, and landed on the ground, skidding to a halt. Oddball struggled to stand, the minimal recoil of the attack leaving him with minimal energy. Yori looked at him in shock.

"You... I..."

"I'll get going now, if that's okay." Oddball choked out, before climbing out of the ring and leaving the room.

* * *

Music for your listening pleasure:

Vs. Elite Four Yori!: Vs. Elite Four (Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald)

Vs. Desirée!: Don Flamenco Full Theme (Punch Out!)

Chapter 10 of this thing! Spiceaaaaaaay!


	11. Chapter 11: Elite Four P5000!

Oddball walked into the room.

The corridor, about 6 or 7 feet wide, with a high ceiling covered with fluorescent lights, was entirely made of metal. Pipes ran around the walls, and large cords covered the ground haphazardly. Oddball could see screens high on the walls depicting flocharts as well as many other assorted kinds of charts, and a couple of loose cords dangled from the ceiling as well.

Taking a second to rest against a wall and regain his strength, Oddball surmised that his next foe would train either Steel types or Electric types. He smirked; as an electric type, he resisted steel-type attacks.

Rested up, he stood and entered the door on the far end of the corridor.

* * *

Guess what kind of room this was.

That's right.

A pitch black one.

The lights came on, fluorescent lights above flickering to life and lighting up the room. The room was decorated almost identically to the preceding corridor, with pipes on the walls and cords on the ground, only the cords stayed on the edges of the room, forming a circle of clear floor in the center. Standing in the room was a bizarre robot with vacuum heads for a head, hands, and feet. All in all, he looked like a living, humanoid vacuum cleaner, with a face and everything.

"Greetings, challenger!" He said, bowing his head slightly. "I am the Poltergust 5000, but you may call me P.5000 for short. I am the final member of the Elite Four." He said, introducing himself. "I train Steel-type Pokemon."

"Well met, P.5000." Oddball said, already lowering himself into a fighting stance. "My name's Oddball. Ready to lose?"

P.5000 grinned. "I don't have to be."

Reaching behind his back, P.5000 pulled out a pokeball, and threw it.

* * *

"Go Dragoon!"

There was a flash of light, and a Skarmory appeared. As it took off straight up into the air, Oddball smirked. This would be an easy battle.

"Thunder!" He shouted, holding his arms up. Sure enough, a massive thunderbolt came down from the heavens, completely annihilating Dragoon. Oddball laughed- he loved getting theatrical with his one-hit knockouts.

Except not, because the Skarmory suddenly flew out of the cloud of dust that had risen, and Oddball realized he had missed.

"Spikes!" P.5000 called out. Dragoon stopped in midair behind Oddball. As Oddball turned to face the metallic bird, it shook its wings, letting dozens of tiny spikes fall and litter the ground. Oddball grimaced. Those were going to be annoying.

"Thunderbolt!" He yelled, deciding to go for the move that had 100% accuracy. A mighty lightning bolt shot out from his body, hitting the Skarmory dead on. There, now it was down for sure.

Wait. Skarmory's usually have Sturdy, don't they?

"Steel Wing!" P.5000 yelled. Oddball cursed in his head as Dragoon, with nary a breath left in him, zoomed towards him and clipped him in the side with his sharp wings. It hurt a bit, but it wouldn't be a problem, Oddball knew, because he resisted steel-type moves.

"Quick Attack!" Oddball said, getting quite sick of this Skarmory's not-dying. Zipping forward, he hit the Skarmory in the side with a tackle, and despite how admittedly weak the attack was and how high the Skarmory's defenses were, it still succeeded in finishing it off.

His foot landed on a spike. Hissing, he jumped back as P.5000 called back Dragoon.

* * *

"Go, HR-G3!" P.5000 yelled, throwing out his second pokeball. A Klinklang emerged from the blinding flash, floating perfectly still in the center of the room.

"Thunderbolt!" Oddball immediately yelled out, jumping in the air and firing a bolt of lightning at the gear-shaped mostrosity.

"Shift Gear!" P.5000 yelled.

HR-G3 was hit by the lightning bolt, but held perfectly still in the air, though it was clearly not enjoying the Thunderbolt attack very much. Oddball watched as, with a couple of loud chunks, its gear-spinning doubled in speed.

"Now, Gear Grind!" P.5000 commanded.

HR-G3 rushed forward, closing the gap between it and Oddball in less than a second.

"Thunderbolt!" Oddball yelled, jumping into the air and firing a Thunderbolt. The Klinklang's eyes followed Oddball upwards as it took the Thunderbolt attack, and after retargeting, it caught Oddball out of the air, finally landing the Gear Grind. Oddball gasped as he was crushed between the Klinklang's two largest gears once, then again before dropping out below it.

"Lock On!" P.5000 shouted. Oddball regained his bearings and hopped back, putting distnace between him and HR-G3 as its targeting system locked on to him.

"Zap Cannon!" P.5000 cried out, striking a pose with one arm streched out in front of him. HR-D3 began charging energy for a massive blast of electricity. Its gears spun wildly, faster and faster until...

"Thunderbolt!" Oddball yelled, firing a bolt of lightning at HR-D3. HR-D3 let loose its Zap Cannon attack, and the two attacks collided, with Oddball straining to supply enough electricity to keep the massive ball of electricity at bay.

Ultimately, with the added power of the Metronome, he succeeded, and his Thunderbolt pierced right through the Zap Cannon, hitting HR-G3 dead on. Again, the Klinklang showed no signs of pain, but when the attack was over, it fell to the ground.

P.5000 called it back, and pulled out another pokeball. Oddball wiped the sweat off his brow.

* * *

"Go Princess!"

There was a blinding flash, and then a Mawile stood before Oddball.

Then, there was another blinding flash, and a Mega Mawile stood before Oddball.

"Uh..." Oddball said, gulping. "Uh..."

"Power-Up Punch." P.5000 said.

At this, Oddball scoffed. Power-Up Punch? But that move was so weak! He smirked and readied his cheek pouches to deliver the Thunderbolt of a lifetime as Princess reared back to throw a weak little punch with her tiny little hands.

HURK.

Princess's fist landed right in Oddball's gut, and he was sent rocketing horizontally into the far wall, where he rested for several seconds before awkwardly flopping to the ground. Getting up, he stared in awe at the Mega Mawile, now even more scary looking after the Power-Up Punch had given her a boost to her attack power.

"Play Rough!" P.5000 commanded. Princess began to run towards Oddball with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Thunderbolt!" Oddball was able to squeak out, and then Princess was on top of him.

It was a catastrophe. Princess beat the tar out of him, punching him across the face and pulling at his ears and kicking him in the stomach before finally headbutting Oddball in the chin, knocking him backwards into the wall he had still been right next to.

"Eaaauuiooough..." Oddball moaned, dizzy and aching all over. His Thunderbolt had managed to hit and had did some damage, but it would take more to take down this herculean beast of a Mawile. Forcing himself up, he frantically ran around Princess and into the middle of the room, where he tripped over his own feet and crashed into the ground, fresh meat for Princess's hungry jaws.

"Crunch!" P.5000 commanded from across the room.

Princess stood and ran towards Oddball, who lay helplessly on the ground. Standing at an angle, she swung one of her two massive sets of jaws over head and slammed it down in front of Oddball before lifting it up off the ground and opening it wide.

Oddball's eyes widened as the jaw opened, and he had a miniature heart-attack as he observed the many rows of jagged teeth. There must have been at least a thousand teeth.

A thousand teeth...

All of a sudden, a fairly recent and very unpleasant nightmare came rushing to the front of his head, and Oddball screamed.

"GET AWAYYYY!"

He curled up, firing a Thunderbolt directly into Princess's giant mouth just before it could chomp down on him.

And, as luck would have it, he got a crit, and Princess collapsed on the ground, moaning dizzily.

"Dagnabbit." P.5000 said, calling back Princess and waiting for Oddball to get over his mini-panic attack.

* * *

Oddball got over it soon enough. Wiping cold sweat from his forehead, he stood and faced P.5000, wearing a determined expression that did nothing to hide how shaken he continued to be.

"Ready?" P.5000 asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Oddball replied. P.5000 nodded.

* * *

"Go Automacon!" P.5000 shouted, throwing out his fourth pokeball.

A Magnezone emerged, quickly locking on to Oddball's presence and calibrating its targeting systems accordingly.

"Double Team!" Oddball shouted, splitting into two copies of himself.

"Flash Cannon!" P.5000 shouted.

Automacon took aim. It readied its magnet blasters, locked on...

And missed. Oddball and his copy danced around the room.

"Thunderbolt!" Oddball cried out. Both he and his copy hopped onto the wall, jumped off, and fired a bolt of lightning at Automacon in midair. Automacon convulsed, but obviously didn't take too much damage.

"Again! Flash Cannon!" P.5000 repeated.

Automacon charged its magnets. It scanned the room, locking on to both copies of Oddball...

It missed again. Oddball and his copy couldn't help but laugh.

"Thunderbolt!" They both cried. Jumping to stand in front of Automacon, they both shot a bolt of lightning at Automacon, causing him to convulse again. This time, with the help of the Metronome boosting Thunderbolt's power, it did significantly more. Another one of those and Automacon would be defeated.

"Flash Cannon? Hit, maybe?" P.5000 asked, almost begging.

Sweating a little (wait how does a machine even sweat), Automacon looked back and forth between the two Oddballs. Confused, it tried locking onto both of them again.

Predictably, it missed. P.5000 fell to his knees, throwing his arms up in a melodramatic display of despair and frustration.

And, with one more Thunderbolt from the two Oddballs, Automacon was knocked out.

Regaining his composure, P.5000 stood and recalled Automacon.

"Well, I'm down to my last guy..." He said, holding out one more pokeball.

"Bring it." Oddball said, both he and his copy holding out their hands in a "bring it" like gesture.

"Alrighty." P.5000 sighed.

"Go, Pikli!"

Wait...

Pikli?

* * *

P.5000 couldn't believe it. He could not believe it. It was inconceivable to both the deepest calculations of his cold machinery, and the wildest fantasies of his malleable human mind.

Well, okay, maybe that wasn't entirely true. It was entirely possible, in theory. He just didn't want to believe it.

After a battle against a Pichu that he was somehow losing, and after finally pulling his trump card, he found out that his challenger was quite well acquainted with the last trick he had up his sleeve!

Yes sir, his Pikachu and this random Pichu were apparently close friends. Unbelievable.

And so he stood, hunched slightly in a very human expression of annoyance, watching the two catch up on old times.

As for Oddball, this twist could not have come at a better time. If there were any point he would have loved to come across a one-in-a-million coincidence like this, it was at the very end of the last battle before he was to fight the supreme Pokemon Champion of the whole continent. He revelled in the moment, taking the conversation with his old friend as not only a lovely little catch up moment, but also as a little extra time he wouldn't have to spend fighting, and honestly?

That was pretty much gold to him right now.

As Oddball and Pikli talked, Oddball soaked up every word inbetween telling parts of his own story. Pikli had been another friend of his during his time in Pokenet, alongside Thor and Wham, and even though Thor and Wham were probably the ones he spent the most time with in his early years, it was clear to anybody who knew him as he grew up that he and Pikli had been way closer than he had ever been with Thor and Wham.

When Oddball had first been brought in to Pokenet by Mike the Persian, Pikli had been barely been older than a toddler. Obviously, he was still a Pichu, and he and Oddball practically grew up together. Mike had often told him he was lucky to be able to grow up alongside another Electric-Type, and of the same evolutionary line to boot. Most orphaned Pokemon didn't have that luxury.

Pikli had evolved when he was 18. Oddball still remembered the day, when he was still just in his late teens, and Pikli had been away for almost a week on a trip outside of Pokenet. He had been so jealous that Pikli hadn't taken him along with him, but looking back, he was almost glad he didn't.

On that trip, Pikli had evolved. Later, Oddball had realised that was the whole point of his journey in the first place.

He could still remember sitting in that house and hearing the knock on the door, opening it up to see Pikli, now a Pikachu, standing in the doorway. It had been a moment for the ages, as is to be expected. Pokemon don't get to evolve much in their life, so an evolution in a community of Pokemon was, and still is, kind of a huge deal.

Looking back, Oddball couldn't help but smirk, knowing all too well that if he had been able to convince Pikli to let him go on that trip...

He would have evolved too.

See, the thing about Pokenet was- and everybody living there knew this...

In Pokenet, it was impossible to evolve.

The town had been built upon a large deposit of Everstone, which prevented anybody in a large area around it from evolving. It seemed like kind of a weird choice to Oddball, why build a town in an area where Pokemon can't evolve? He supposed the element of control was nice; you could be ready to evolve, but if you didn't want to for whatever reason, you could stay in the town, and you would never have to worry about it.

Since then, Oddball hadn't had a chance to leave the town, however, because just the next day...

_Fire._

Oddball blocked out the memory as soon as it came up. He could still see it, clear as day- the flames that licked every house in Pokenet, the screams of the citizens as their houses, their belongings, and in many cases, they themselves burned in the raging inferno.

Made sense, seeing as it had only happened about a week ago. Did I forget to mention that?

Yeah. That was pretty recently. When he ran away from Pokenet, seizing the opportunity to escape and running, just running as fast as he could, anywhere he could go...

It wasn't long before he ended up at the Crystal Palace, where all of this began.

As for Pikli, Oddball listened intently (I bet you forgot this conversation was happening didn't you) as he recanted his tale, where upon waking up in a sea of flames, he was able to escape with Wham and Thor, running to a nearby Pokemon Center, where he was able to meet up with his trainer P.5000.

Oh, yeah, P.5000 had been Pikli's trainer for a while. Oddball had never met him or heard his name, but he knew for a long time. Pikli had been caught when he was only 13, as a Pichu. He had wandered out of the village late at night and ran into a trainer in the forest.

It wasn't really a problem, though. It just meant he had a little less free time than he used to. I mean, if P.5000's team a few minutes ago was any indication, he didn't exactly need a Pikachu for much, did he?

But anyway, Oddball was ecstatic to hear the story of his escape, even if he knew Pikli was stretching the details a bit to make it more interesting. He was especially relieved to know that both Wham and Thor were alright.

So after about 15 minutes of talking, the conversation finally slowed down. The two of them had said everything they wanted to, and Oddball had done enough inner monologuing to fill a book on its own. But finally, their visiting all but stopped, and P.5000 quickly took his opportunity.

"So, umm... are you two gonna fight or what?" P.5000 said.

"I don't think so, P5. I don't know if I could hurt a hair on this guy's head, even if I wanted to." Pikli said, turning to his trainer and thumbing back at Oddball, who couldn't help but chuckle at the desperate trainer. P.5000 sighed heavily.

"Alright, whatever." He resigned. "Are you two done socializing, or can I put you back in your Pokeball now?" He said, holding up Pikli's Pokeball.

"Yeah sure."

* * *

"Congratulations." P.5000 said, not even opening his eyes at Oddball, head hanging low. "You have defeated me." He continued.

"Awesome." Oddball replied, walking to the door at the back of the room as P.5000 rubbed at a headache.

* * *

Music for your listening pleasure:

Vs. Elite Four P.5000!: Vs. Frontier Brain (Pokemon Platinum)

Vs. Pikli?: Friendship Song (Mario &amp; Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story)/Heartwarming (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky)

Victory Against Elite Four!: Victory Against Elite Four! (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum)

Chapter 11 of this thing! Loooong.


	12. Chapter 12: Champion!

Oddball walked into the room.

This hall was much longer than the previous ones. The ceiling was high, the walls were far apart, and the door was sitting imposingly on the back wall, at the top of three separate sets of stairs that spanned the whole width of the hall.

Draped on the walls were banners and tapestries depicting war, hopelessness, triumph, peace, hanging down from the ceiling were multiple very fancy chandeliers.

But what struck Oddball the most about the room wasn't any of that.

It was the fact that everything seemed to be made of shining, shimmering, ice.

The walls and floor were a light blue cyan color, and glowed with an almost ghost-like light. He could see his reflection everywhere- in the floor, in the walls, even in the ceiling far up above.

The tapestries, now that he looked a little closer at them, indeed depicted wars, hopeless situations, triumphs, and peaceful times, but what surprised- or maybe it didn't at this point -him was the subjects of these paintings.

Duplighosts. Boos. Ghosts and other Ghost-type things, all on a backdrop of snow and crystal.

Oddball had a pretty good idea who the Champion was. He wondered why he hadn't realized it sooner.

Scampering down the hall, he stopped to take one last breather in front of the door, staring into the pitch-blackness beyond its frame.

He took a deep breath, and went inside.

* * *

The room was dark, but Oddball knew by now it wasn't going to stay that way for long. He could smell the room, though- it smelled like a mix of an old dusty library and...

...and something, but he couldn't put his finger on what.

The lights turned on, blinding Oddball momentarily. When he adjusted, he could see the room in its entirety.

The walls were indeed covered entirely with bookshelves, lined with rows upon rows of books. There must have been thousands, no, _tens _of thousands of them.

The ceiling was high and dome-shaped, a skylight showing the bright blue, partly cloudy sky above the Pokemon League building. Hanging down from chains attached to the walls was a beautiful, silvery white chandelier.

The ground was white and tiled, and raised in a high cylinder in the center, and the only way up onto the circular platform was via a spiral staricase around the outside of it, which was padded with black carpet and had two stripes of light travelling up it.

Pausing a moment to soak it all in, Oddball began to climb up the staircase, eventually reaching the same level as the raised platform. Turning toward it, he could see that the top of the platform was almost entirely made of bright, white, glowing light interlaced with all sorts of silver, metal patterns. It was quite a sight to behold.

And sitting in a large, comfy-looking armchair, reading a book...

...was Dooplex.

"Ah, I'm glad you made it." He said casually, closing his book upon noticing Oddball. "Not that I was worried you wouldn't make it, of course." He smirked. "I knew you would."

"You..." Oddball breathed. "You didn't tell me you were the Champion!" Oddball said. He remembered how brutal Dooplex's Infernape had been when he had first fought him, and he wasn't exciting to fight it again.

"Didn't I? I thought it was pretty obvious." Dooplex mused, resting his... chin, on a hand. He chuckled when he saw Oddball's confused face. "Maybe not?"

To be honest, Oddball had suspected it for a while now. Ever since the guard had been about to throw him out of the League, when he had _just so happened_ to get a call on his walkie talkie from Doopline, saying the Champ said to let him in. Obviously, the champ had known him somehow, but it hadn't been until he'd entered the corridor after P.5000 that it had really sunken in.

"Well, no matter. If you're here, that means we're to fight." Dooplex said plainly, standing up. A hole opened in the floor and the armchair he had been sitting in slid downwards, out of sight.

"T-that's right." Oddball choked out, doing a very bad job at hiding how nervous he was about going up against Dooplex again. He quickly composed himself, however, and struck an offensive stance, raring to go. "So, uh, hit me with your best shot!"

"I don't think you want me to do that." Dooplex said, laughing. Oddball twitched at the sound of it- raspy and deep, like it would swallow you up if you listened too deeply. It sounded like Dooplex was laughing right in his ear, even though he was almost ten feet away. Something about it made him angry, and it showed. His cheeks began to spark. "I've been around for a long time, Oddball, and I've fought much worse than you. My team is hardened. We've fought legendaries, beasts, villains, even a handful of demons." He said. Oddball shuddered involuntarily.

"Well if I'm so weak..." He started. "Then it should be no problem to defeat me! Fight me at full power, and if I'm not ready, then our battle will be over quick." He spoke, not really piecing together exactly what he was saying until after he'd said it.

"Hm... Intriguing." Dooplex said, crossing his arms. "Very well."

Dooplex snapped his fingers, and an illusion dissipated all around the room. The walls changed from bookshelves to glorious stained glass in six layers, stretching up to the ceiling, with each layer representing a different member of Dooplex's team, except for the last, which was black save for a pair of dark red, glowing eyes. Dooplex held up a pokeball.

"Give me your best!" Dooplex shouted suddenly. Oddball thought he could see his eyes change from a solid, swirling blue to a fiery, burning red.

"Go, Dugtrio!"

* * *

Oddball steeled himself as his first opponent emerged in front of him, complimented by the stained glass layer depicting a sprawling desert. It sat in the floor (yes, in the floor), with three brown heads, each looking quite cross with their angry eyes and their big red noses.

Dugtrio suddenly sped towards Oddball, catching Oddball quite off guard. Oddball quickly jumped out fot he way, and Dooplex shouted the first command of the battle.

"Earthquake!"

Dugtrio stopped in his tracks. Before Oddball could do anything, his foe's three heads began to shake uncontrollably, before dipping underground.

Then, shaking. A massive quake rattled the entire arena, yet somehow it only affected Oddball. He could hear the quake affecting eveyrthing else in the room, from the glass panes to the foundation of the building, but he seemed to somehow be getting the worst of it.

And boy, was he ever. As an Electric-Type, Oddball was very weak to Ground-Type moves, and the attack left him sprawled on the ground, already struggling to get back up.

Get back up he did, though, and before Dooplex could voice another command to his Dugtrio, Oddball rushed forward and hit Dugtrio with the Quick Attack of his life.

Fortunately for him (He probably wouldn't have survived another Earthquake), he critted, and Dugtrio was soundly defeated.

Or at least, he would have been, if he hadn't've been wearing a Focus Sash.

"Stealth Rock!" Dooplex shouted, desperate to get his stage hazards out before his Dugtrio was defeated. Dugtrio responded in kind, shaking violently and sending sharp rocks flying everywhere, which eventually stopped moving, floating in place. When the attack finished, the battlfield was full of floating spikes. And we all know how annoying regular spikes have been in the past, well these ones were floating. How about that.

Anyway, Oddball proceeded to finish off the Dugtrio with another Quick Attack.

"Tch." Dooplex huffed, calling back his lead.

The arena suddenly began to rise. As it rose to the second layer, depicting a deep, dark ocean, Dooplex pulled out his second Pokeball.

* * *

"Go Tentadoop!"

The Tentacruel emerged, floating in midair. Oddball smirked at his opponent's obvious apprehensiveness- this matchup hadn't ended favorably for the Water-Type last time, and it wouldn't this time either.

However, Tentadoop had one trick up its sleeve. It looked to Dooplex, who plainly said:

"Knock Off."

Oddball couldn't react fast enough. Instantly, the Tentacruel was upon him, and after a moment's pause to savor its prey, Tentadoop set to work clobbering Oddball with his tentacles.

It didn't hurt much, but Oddball's spirits dropped as the attack struck his hand...

...and his Metronome fell uselessly to floor. Tentadoop quickly swatted it away with a tentacle, whereupon it fell, fell, fell to the ground, far below the high central platform.

Oddball retaliated with a Thunderbolt at point blank range. Tentadoop didn't stand a chance.

* * *

Oddball quickly recalibrated his semi-existent strategy as the arena rose to the next level, depicting a field of grass filled with roses of every color.

He'd lost his Metronome. That meant he wouldn't be able to spam an attack and get rewarded for it...

...but it also meant there was no reason not to use different moves every turn. That freed him up considerably in the quick-thinking department, he thought.

The arena stopped. Oddball snapped to attention as Dooplex pulled out his third pokeball.

"Go, Rose!" He said, throwing it.

Oddball's third foe emerged. A beautiful Roserade stood on the other side of the arena.

"Sleep Powder." He commanded. Roserade immediately dashed towards Oddball, and before he could react, he had been blasted in the face with a thick cloud of pollen, and his senses dulled.

* * *

When he woke up, he was still in the arena, believe it or not. You would think the Pokemon League Champion would use turns its opponents spent asleep to whale on them, but upon examining the arena...

...Dooplex had used the time to cover the arena in several layers of spikes. Oddball cursed to himself.

"Bout time you woke up." Dooplex sneered. "Rose, Petal Storm."

Rose stood firm where she was. Then, she began to spin around. Faster ad faster she spun, and soon, millions of tiny flower petals began to appear and swirl around her, seemingly from nowhere. Oddball watched curiously, having never seen this attack before, and not knowing what to expect.

Suddenly a massive wave of petals crashed across the battlefield. Oddball tried to dash out of the way, but the attack covered the entire arena, and... well, he didn't dodge it.

Flower petals slashed at him from every angle. The wave had formed a cloud of swirling petals (they were rather sharp, somehow) around Oddball that didn't seem to be intent on letting up any time soon. Trying to steel himself against the sharp pain all over his body, Oddball focused on the Roserade, still spinning and gathering petals from who-knows-where, and fired off a Thunderbolt.

Whether or not it hit, he never found out, because then Rose released another wave of petals.

This one was even worse than the first. It was agony, pure and unavoidable. Petals sliced at his skin all over his body, and it was all he could do not to scream, and once again try to focus on the Roserade, who was still spinning and gathering petals. Was there going to be a third wave? That was a scary thought.

He definitely hit her with that one, but then the third wave came, and Oddball began to question whether this whole thing was a good idea in the first place as his body was once again beset from all angles by the razor sharp petals.

Eventually, however, it subsided, and Oddball looked up to see that his opponent was now sitting on the floor, head lolling dizzily, as Rose tried to recover from spinning at high speeds for several minutes straight.

"Sludge Bomb." Dooplex commanded, but it was clear there was no hurry. Rose had done what Dooplex had needed her to do- if it ended here, that would be alright.

Rose paused, and tired to clear her head. She rubbed at her "temples" with her "hands", and shook her head. What had her trainer said? She couldn't focus...

Oddball hit her with a well-aimed Thunder, and she was down for the count.

Oddball took a step forward, and his foot landed on a spike.

The arena rose to the next layer of stained glass, an abstract piece depicting plasma and electricity. Oddball nursed his foot, then the other, as he clumsily continued to step on spikes, trying to find a clear spot he could stand.

Dooplex held up his next pokeball once Oddball had finally managed to stand on both feet.

"Go, Rotom!" He shouted, throwing it out.

The pokeball opened, and Rotom emerged, sparking with electricity and surrounded by an aura of plasma. Oddball couldn't help but gulp- it looked stronger.

"Trick." Dooplex commanded. Rotom grinned, and flashed forward, momentarily appearing in front of Oddball. It raised its arms, and brought them down before Oddball could move out of the way, locking Oddball in place. Then, Rotom spun around, making Oddball spin around as well.

When it ceased, Oddball felt a small weight around his neck, and he realized he had been given a Choice Scarf. He felt around his body.

Rotom had stolen his Eviolite.

Rotom quickly flashed away, reappearing in full where he had been before using the move. Dooplex grinned, and said:

"Shadow Ball."

Oddball quickly ducked out of the way as Rotom fired a large sphere of darkness at him through the field of floating stones and spikes. It weaved and arced, trying to home in on him, but Oddball was able to avoid it, thankfully, by moving behind a floating rock at the last second. Tugging at his Choice Scarf, he realized he had no choice but to fight back, and the best move to do that with would probably be...

"Thunder!" He yelled, jumping up from behind the stone and raising his arms into the air, summoning a massive bolt of lightning to crash down on Rotom.

Rotom didn't appear to be hurt much. Oddball swallowed hard.

"Again." Dooplex said, simply. Rotom fired off another Shadow Ball, which Oddball somehow managed to dodge again, ducking and weaving through the floating stones. Somehow, he had managed to avoid stepping on a spike, but he knew the moment he thought that, he would.

"Thunder!" He yelled again, feeling almost a little redundant. The Choice Scarf would force him to use the same move over and over again, it almost felt pointless to announce it. Another bolt of lightning crashed down on Rotom, who visibly flinched this time, but still held up fine against the attack.

"Ominous Wind." Dooplex commanded. Rotom nodded, and began to pulsate, emanating a deep shadowy fog that quickly accelerated away from him, creating a terrible shadowy gale.

Oddball definitely couldn't avoid this. It knocked him off his feet, assaulting his mind and body with a horrible feeling of weakness. He landed on a bed of spikes, and struggled to get up.

"T-Thunder!" He managed to choke out, summoning another lightning bolt down on Rotom. He prayed for a critical hit. Please, get a crit, please get a crit, please get a crit.

He got a crit. He doubled over in pain after the attack as well, and when he looked up, he discovered he had managed to paralyze the Rotom too. Score.

Dooplex growled. Rotten luck he had, and golden luck his opponent had. "Shadow Ball!" He shouted, frustrated.

Rotom obeyed, firing one last Shadow Ball through the field of floating stones.

"Thunder!" Oddball shouted again, trying to ignore the pain in his back, where he had landed on the spikes. A bolt of lightning crashed down yet again on Rotom, who finally gave out when the attack finished, gently floating to the ground and falling over sideways, its plasma aura disappearing. Oddball quickly dashed over, his back igniting in white-hot pain, and quickly tore off the Choice Scarf, swapping it back with his Eviolite.

Dooplex called Rotom back without saying a word.

* * *

The arena rose again, this time to the layer of stained glass depicting a raging inferno, inter-cut with images of hand-to-hand combat. Oddball knew what he'd be fighting on this level, and he shuddered with the anticipation.

Dooplex held out his fifth pokeball, causing Oddball to breathe in sharply. He savored the moment, and then threw it up.

"Go Blaze!"

The Infernape emerged from the pokeball, landing hard on the ground. He looked down at Oddball with a scrutinizing glare. Oddball shuddered again.

"Close Combat!" Dooplex shouted to his ape, swinging his arm dramatically.

"Double Team!" Oddball shouted panickedly. He immediately split into two copies that quickly spread out, and Blaze unleashed a brutal flurry of kicks and punches at empty air. He growled when the attacked finished, and whipped around to face the two Oddballs, now behind him.

"Again! Close Combat!" Dooplex commanded, pumping his fist in the air. Blaze lunged at one of the Oddballs, and Oddball paled as he realized he was heading for the real one.

"Double Team!" He shouted again, both clones splitting into two more, totaling four now. Blaze growled angrily after he finished another Close Combat attack on the air, turning every which way but loose, trying to pinpoint the real Oddball.

"He's there!" Dooplex yelled to Blaze, pointing at one of the Oddballs. The real one, to be exact. "Close Combat, again!"

Blaze leaped towards Oddball for a third time, and can you guess what Oddball did?

"Double Team!" He yelled, each clone splitting into two. There were 8 of them now, running around. Blaze whirled in place, unable to keep track of them all.

"There's too many! Blast Burn!" Dooplex yelled from the sidelines. Blaze nodded, eyeing the many Oddballs as they ran circles around him, as he heated his body up to extreme temperatures...

"Thunderbolt!" All the Oddballs yelled simultaneously, each firing an identical bolt of lightning at the Infernape in the center. Blaze didn't react, but he was definitely hurt. He was just focusing too hard on charging his attack.

Finally, he released it. The Infernape practically exploded, sending out a raging wave of blazing fire. In an insatnt, the entire battlefield was completely engulfed in flame, all the floating stones and spikes being blasted away, and all the Oddballs screaming in pain as they burned and eventually disappeared, all except the real Oddball, who fell to the ground in agony, looking up at the devil of an Infernape standing over him, a sillhouette in the fire.

Dooplex, floating outside the arena, was completely unaffected, of course.

"Shadow Claw." He said to Blaze.

Oddball tried to raise his head, but he was in too much pain. The fire licked at his body, burning him in places he hadn't even realized could be burned. He watched as the Infernape took step after step towards him, and watched as his face became visible to him. His eyes, full of fire, glaring down at him. He reached down and grabbed Oddball by the throat, and hoisted him high in the air. Oddball could see his eyes burn with darkness as his hand became cloaked in shadow in the form of a giant claw around his throat. He struggled to get free, but Blaze's grip was steadfast. He was going to die, right here, right now, amidst the raging inferno.

That was when he noticed it.

Blaze had a Life Orb on a string around his neck.

Oddball smirked, and at the Infernape's look of confusion, he let loose with the most powerful Thunderbolt he could muster.

Both of them roared with pain as the electricity arced through their bodies. Oddball was overloading himself, he knew- Pichus couldn't handle large amounts of electricity on their own, and he was going wayyyyyyy over the recommended amount, but Blaze was suffering the worst of it. As the electric attack went on, he convulsed violently, still holding his grip around Oddball's neck. His eyes rolled back in his head and he finally let go just as Oddball began to literally run out of electricity, and the two of them collapsed to the floor, with the fire continuing to rage around them.

Oddball got up. His entire body cried out against it, but he got up, and dragged himself towards Blaze. He climbed on top of the Infernape.

Blaze did not get up.

* * *

"Blaze, return." Dooplex said, returning to an unignited part of the platform and calling back his Infernape. He waved a hand over the arena, an icy wind blowing through the room and putting out all the raging flames. Oddball struggled to stand, but managed to glare at Dooplex.

"Bravo!" Dooplex cheered. "You're five sixths of the way there." He said, smirking evilly. "Are you prepared to face my strongest pokemon?" He asked Oddball, holding out his final pokeball.

Oddball looked at it, and paled. It was a Master Ball.

"I caught my last pokemon in a world that has never seen the light of day." Dooplex began. "A world where nothing makes sense. A world where rules do not exist. My last pokemon governs this world, a god of antimatter, a front to all existence. Are you ready to fight that, Oddball?"

Oddball gulped. The arena began to rise to the final layer of stained glass, which depicted a pure black void with two glowing red eyes.

"Of course you are." He jeered. "If you weren't, you wouldn't have come! Isn't that right? You're ready for anything!" He said, laughing. Oddball hated that laugh.

"Get on with it!" Oddball yelled at Dooplex. "Just send it out already!"

"Fine." Dooplex said, pretending to be huffy. "If you insist." He said, holding up his final pokeball.

"Come, Dr. Distorto!"

The pokeball opened.

A torrent of black flowed from it, the opposite of the blinding flash of the other pokeballs. Oddball froze in fear at the sight, as shadows continued to pour from the tiny ball.

Then, six long arms extended from within, stretching and reaching across the arena towards him. He tried to scream, he tried to run, he tried to do anything...

But all he could do was watch as the arms grabbed him...

...and pulled him across the arena, into the darkness.

* * *

Music for your listening pleasure:

Champion Dooplex: Champion Cynthia (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum)

Vs. Champion Dooplex!: Vs. Champion Cynthia (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum)

Come, Dr. Distorto!: Luigi Sucked Into the Painting (Luigi's Mansion)

Geez, I can't believe I'm almost done this story. Next chapter is the final battle, and then the epilogue, which will be very short, leading directly into the next installment of the story of Oddball, Oddball: Escape the Crystal Palace! Oh boy, I bet I got you excited now. Yeah.


	13. Chapter 13: Torn World

Oddball dreamed of fire. Fire, and screaming. He was in Pokenet, and he was in the Crystal Palace. There was fire, and there was no fire. There were screams, and there was silence. He saw himself in the lab he had seen before, in the Hall of Origin, with blood, and tools, and conveyors. He was in the caves outside the lab, surrounded by half-dead Pichus. He was running from Pokenet, and he was arriving at the Palace in that cold wintery wasteland.

All these thoughts tumbled through his head. His life was flashing before his eyes.

Yet... he could feel a presence. A horrible, terrifying presence.

His memories flashed around him. Directly in front of him, a fair distance away, staring at him, was a pair of glowing red eyes, emotionless. Blank.

He stared into them. He remained like that for an indeterminate amount of time.

Suddenly, the figure wearing the surgical mask was there.

Right in his face.

Silent.

He woke up.

Everything was wrong.

* * *

Oddball looked around, taking in his surroundings.

It was impossible. Nothing made sense. He reached out and touched a floating island that he could have sworn was eighty yards away. It was covered entirely in white tiles, and smelled clean. Too clean.

It disappeared. Oddball let his eyes wander, unable to control himself. Nothing felt right. The geometry was wrong. Angles didn't work like that. The ceiling was below and beside him, and the floor was perpendicular to that. He was standing in abstract. Everything was wrong.

He looked to the right, and saw another floating rock. He looked to the left, and saw the exact same thing. He turned ninety degrees and found himself facing the same direction. Ninety degrees back the other way turned him around. He blinked, and his eyelids closed from the center of his eye outwards. Everything was wrong.

He turned his head until he could find a hole in the small, messed up room he was in. He found it. It didn't move. That was right. He walked toward it, and found himself moving backwards. He tried walking backwards, and the room spun in circles as he moved sideways. The hole remained in place. Everything was wrong.

He tried walking towards the hole again. This time, it worked. Why did it work this time? He approached the hole, and it grew larger, engulfing his vision more and more the closer he got.

Finally, the hole filled his entire vision. He turned back to look at the room he had been in one last time, and it was no longer there.

He was floating in a void. All he could see was faraway patterns of blue and black, swirling like nebulae. He tried to walk, and found he was standing on something. Looking down, he found himself standing on perfectly normal ground.

He heard a roar. Turning around, happy to find he could actually do that correctly now, he thought he saw a smudge of black move across the infinite space, but it was impossible to be sure. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a rock on the ground he was standing on float into the air for seemingly no reason whatsoever. Taking a step, the entire ground angled upwards. The laws of physics had no place here.

He took a step back, and the ground angled back downwards. Taking another step back, it angled downwards further still, and Oddball slipped.

Panicking, Oddball closed his eyes.

He stopped falling.

When he opening his eyes, he was somewhere completely different. He was floating on a single white tile in a sea of floating white tiles, seemingly endless.

He heard a fluttering of cloth behind him. He jerked around.

There was nothing there. Breathing heavily, Oddball turned back around.

The figure with the surgical mask was there, far away in the sea of tiles. An extreme pain assaulted Oddball the moment he looked at it, and his vision blurred. He quickly looked away, getting the figure out of his line of sight, and he began to hop as best he could through the sea of tiles.

He kept running for a long time, hopping from tile to tile. Every so often he would check behind him, to see if the figure was still there. Sure enough, every single tie he turned around, there it was, getting closer without moving. Every time his head was filled with a terrible sensation when he looked at it, but he had to be sure it was still there, because the moment it wasn't, he was going to stop running. He was getting exhausted.

Thankfully, at least gravity seemed to work semi-normally in this area of... wherever he was. It didn't so much pull him downward so much as towards each individual tile, like they were the only things with gravity in this bizarre world. This made it very easy to land on them at least, although it was quite disorienting.

Suddenly, he leaped for a tile, only to find out it wasn't a tile at all. Landing on it, he found it had no gravity of its own, and he tumbled through the empty space, clutching onto the floating white square for dear life, before finally landing on another tile.

Finally getting a good look at it, Oddball found the not-tile to be a sheet of paper. On it were two words, scrawled in all capital letters.

YOU KNOW

Oddball was confused, and more than little off-put by the message, which he couldn't help but feel was aimed at him. You know? I know what?, he asked himself.

Shrugging internally, he scrunched the paper in his hand and looked up to continue running.

The figure was standing on the tile right in front of him.

Oddball screamed. His head felt like it was going to explode and his vision turned red. He frantically turned around and dashed in what he hoped was the opposite direction, silently begging that he would be able to lose it.

What was that thing?

* * *

For what felt like forever, Oddball dashed through the sea of tiles. He found other sheets of paper, each with an equally cryptic message on it. He didn't bother trying to make sense of them- heck, some of them was just random scribbles. He had six papers now, all scrunched up in his right hand. The sea of tiles continued. The figure still followed him, lagging behind as he ran, and appearing suddenly in a random place- typically close to him -whenever he found a paper. It was starting to make him a little bit angry, honestly, amidst the abject fear and terror. Why was this thing chasing after him, and why did it hurt him so much just to look at it?

He looked up, and the figure was standing on a tile in front of him again. He quickly averted his eyes, changing his trajectory. It had been doing that recently, too. Every extra paper he found seemed to make it more aggressive.

Slowly but surely, and painfully, Oddball eventually found another piece of paper. What perplexed him about this one was that it was completely black. Looking up from the paper, he was surprised to see that the figure was not in front of him. In fact, turning and looking around, it seemed like the figure with the surgical mask was nowhere to be found. He smiled. I finally lost it, he thought.

He looked back in front of him, and noticed something far off in the distance. Land! He dashed towards it, hopping from tile to tile.

He felt something. A dark feeling in his head, suffocating his mind. He looked behind him.

It was the figure, and it was moving.

Oddball's breath caught in his throat. He immediately turned back and hopped as fast as he could through the sea of tiles, but he could feel it closing in. The dark, suffocating sensation in his head intensified. It was catching up. The feeling was intense now. It was right behind him.

He landed on the floating island at the edge of the sea of tiles. On the other side of it was a sheet of paper. Without tinking, he dashed for it, and the floating island tilted up, as if trying to push him back towards the thing behind him. Oddball struggled with all his might. He couldn't even think now, the feeling in his head was too great. He scraped at the ground, now almost perpendicular to how it had been before, and finally reached the paper, grabbing hold of it.

Instantly, he was standing on flat ground again. He held the paper up to his face and looked at it.

It was the face of the figure with the surgical mask.

It was in front of him. He couldn't run. It enveloped him, swallowed him. Its dark body wrapped around him, choking the life out of him. He tried to scream, but nothing came out. He couldn't even open his mouth.

He fell unconscious.

* * *

Oddball woke up. He was wrapped in... something.

He tried to move, and found he was more than capable too. Squirming, he managed to free himself from whatever it was he was wrapped in, and he emerged.

The light burned his eyes, but once he adjusted, he could see...

He was back in the lab. The lab he had seen in the Hall of Origin. He was here again.

He looked down at the ground. He had been wrapped in a white cloth, like a bedsheet.

Looking around, the lab seemed to be completely empty. The table in the center where he had seen the figure before was bare, and there was no figure to be seen. The conveyor belts were not running, but they were still covered in body parts. He grimaced at the sight of them before slowly walking toward the table in the center of the room.

He didn't make it. As he approached the table, his head started to hurt again, the same way it had whenever he had looked at the figure in the sea of tiles. He wisely decided to avoid the table.

Instead, he climbed the conveyor belts as he had before. Careful not to step on any of the body parts, he made his way up to the vent in the ceiling he had gone through before. It was nice- this time, he wasn't rushed.

Okay, maybe "nice" was pushing it. The conveyor belts were still covered in body parts, and even just being where he was wasn't an optimal situation by any stretch of the imagination, but at least he wasn't being chased by that horrifying figure.

He made it to the ceiling vent and crawled through it. On the other end, he fell out of the ceiling into the last room he had seen before waking up in the Hall of Origin, the room he decided he would call the Capsule room. There were literally thousands of capsules in the massive room, so massive he couldn't see the end of it. As he walked through the room, he would glance into random capsules and see the pokemon inside. Cubone, Klink, Magmar, you name it. It was here.

He surprised himself with how calm he was. When he had last seen this room, he'd freaked out, simply shocked at the amount of pokemon there must have been, trapped in this room. Perhaps it was the fact that the figure was no longer chasing him.

Suddenly, there was a roar. A long, dissonant roar, the same he had heard when he first entered this backwards world. Looking up, he saw a shadow move along the ceiling. It was huge, and bizarre-looking. At the front, its head was spiky and angular, like it was wearing a crown. Its body was thick and long, like a bulky snake. Six large spikes and six long arms, each tipped with a smaller spike, came out from its body, the arms from its back, and three spikes on each side. Additionally, four more spikes came out near the end of its tail, two to the left and two to the right, same as the spikes on the body. The arms waved back and forth as the shadow snaked along the ceiling.

Eventually, the shadow faded into nothingness.

"Was that...?" Oddball began. He could think of only one thing that shadow could have been. The deity of this inverse world, this torn world. A god of distortion, a renegade from reality, to whom the laws of physics were a joke, a rule to be broken.

Dooplex's last pokemon.

He ran forward, trying to catch up with it. Maybe, just maybe, he could meet with it without Dooplex around, and get some answers. What was this place? Why was it copying from his dreams in the Hall of Origin? Would the pokemon even be able to speak? Would it be civil? Oddball had no idea, but he knew that his best bet was to try and catch up with it.

So he ran. He ran and ran and ran, looking straight ahead, not letting his gaze wander to the capsules. The room seemed to go on forever. He marveled at how large it was, how many pokemon must be in it, all in capsules.

Eventually, he ran out of breath. He couldn't keep going. As he rested, panting heavily, another sensation came over him. An indescribable feeling, a feeling that told him with everything it had to look to the left.

He did, and he saw a capsule. He stood, and he walked to it.

Inside the capsule was a Pichu.

It was him.

Oddball stood like that for a long while, looking at himself. He was sleeping, or unsconscious. His body was covered in stitches, but he appeared unharmed. Oddball noticed a small notch in his ear. Reaching up, he felt it on his ear too. Perhaps it was a mishap from... whatever it was that was the reason his other self was covered in stitches. Did that make sense? Yeah, that made sense.

A hand rested on his shoulder.

Oddball turned around, and he was face-to-face with the figure in the surgical mask. He froze, his head exploding with pain, his vision blurring and fading. He couldn't move. He shut his eyes tight.

The pain subsided.

He opened his eyes back up.

He was no longer in the capsule room.

"Oh come on! Just when I thought there was starting to be some continuity in this place..." Oddball yelled to the open air.

He was on a floating island, seemingly the same he had found the last paper on. Suddenly, remembering the papers, Oddball looked at his hand.

The papers were gone. A cursory glance around the island told him they were nowhere to be found. He sighed.

Finding nothing to do on the small island, Oddball walked to the edge and gazed out into the abyss.

When he approached the edge, another platform appeared in front of him. Out of nowhere. Another rocky island, barely large enough to contain him, floated a short distance away from the island he stood on.

Resigning himself to the randomness of this dimension, Oddball hopped to the small island, and another island appeared a short distance away. Hopping to that one, Oddball looked back to find that the platform he'd woken up on had now disappeared. Looking back ahead, he saw another platform waiting for him.

He continued onward, hopping from platform to platform as more appeared, the ones behind him vanishing as he progressed. After several bounds, an island appeared that was slightly larger than the others. He hopped onto it.

A roar sounded out, very close. Oddball looked around frantically, trying to pinpoint where it came from, hoping to catch a glimpse of the creature he had seen the shadow of in the capsule room.

The thing did not disappoint.

Suddenly, a massive shadow rose from underneath the platform on which Oddball stood. It was pitch black and enormous, towering over the tiny pichu. From its back sprung six long, gangly arms, each ending in a spike. From its body came six spikes, three on each side. It was shaped like a snake, and at the top, its head was crowned in an angular, spiky crown, with additional rungs around its neck, just below the head.

On the front of the head were two shining, pinprick eyes. Blood red.

An incredible sensation overtook Oddball, filling his entire body. This shadow glowed, pulsed, with such power, it was like standing in the presence of a god. His entire body quaked, and he fell to his knees, and then his hands and knees, and then he was on his side, straining to look up at the shadow looming over him.

It roared, and a wave of red energy exploded out from it. Oddball felt himself rising into the air, and his entire body went numb as the world went white...

* * *

Oddball woke up on cold ground.

He stood up, finding his body to be in perfect health. Looking around, he seemed to be in a very large, circular arena, at least twice the size of any of the Elite Four arenas. The ground was made of white tiles.

"Of course." Oddball said.

Far away from him, around the edge of the arena, was a tall, black, iron picket fence, that looked sharp enough that you could cut your eye by looking at it. Beyond the fence was a row of gnarled trees that were bent in such a way that Oddball figured they might have been growing out of the side of a cliff. Or perhaps the side of a floating arena, to be precise.

Past that was infinite space, the same nebulous blues and blacks he had been seeing throughout his trip through the backwards world. He thought he could see some islands floating out there maybe...? It didn't matter anyhow.

A roar. Oddball looked up, and the beast was directly above him.

Falling down.

Oddball scrambled to get out of the way, barely escaping before the monster landed in the middle of the arena, sprawled on the ground. Picking himself up off the white tiled floor, Oddball turned to look at the beast, finally getting a good look at it.

Its body was grey, shaped like a snake. Its underbelly was decorated with black and red stripes in different patterns along its Its head was adorned with a golden crest on its forehead, under which were two glowing red eyes over a slightly pointed snout. Around the bottom half of its head was some sort of golden mouth guard that spread out behind its head, and was pointed at the front. Around its neck were three golden half-rings that curled into spikes in the front.

Six spikes came out from the sides of its body near the front, and four more came from its tail. High above Oddball it floated, as it finally dawned on him what this monstrosity truly was, and his blood ran cold.

_Giratina._

He remembered the legends. A god of entropy, of chaos, and an antithesis to existence. It was born alongside its brothers, gods of Time and Space, Dialga and Palkia, given life by the ultimate creator of Plit, the Pokemon god Arceus. Whereas Arceus, Dialga and Palkia would set about creating and keeping the world in order, Giratina was driven to do the opposite. He lacked the power to create, and so reveled in chaos and destruction, his jealousy of his father and brothers causing him to go mad.

Eventually, a great war ensued between Giratina and Arceus, but Giratina was soundly defeated. In his mercy, Arceus had chosen to take pity on his creation, and rather than smiting Giratina as he deserved, Arceus opted to create a world to oppose ours, a Torn World (or Distortion World, translations of the old legends weren't very consistent), and gave Giratina free reign.

Of course, there wasn't exactly much to do in the Reverse World, but Giratina didn't seem to mind. For all intents and purposes, everybody lived happily ever after.

Now, if you had told Oddball that morning that he would be meeting face-to-face with Giratina himself, well, he probably would have laughed you off. Oddball had never been a particularly religious guy, and he had trouble believing this sort of stuff. But this, this was irrefutable proof. Gods existed, and Oddball was standing right in front of one.

Now, the question was...

_How the hell had Dooplex managed to catch this thing?!_

Let alone Arceus, he thought to himself. Looking back, Oddball could barely even imagine what could have happened in the Hall of Origin while he was sitting around in a trance...

Anyway, the god of antimatter was right in front of Oddball.

It rose into the air and gave a mighty, bellowing roar. The fight began.

* * *

The first thing Giratina did was fly backwards. He stopped above the picket fence at the very edge of the large arena. Oddball took a moment to assess the situation before things got too out of control.

First of all, he had heard- though he wasn't certain -that Giratina was a Ghost-Type. If that was true, that meant Quick Attack would be useless. His Electric attacks would have to do. Patting his magical protagonist inventory down, he found his Eviolite and Revive Berry, still there, not lost in the Distortion World somewhere.

Suddenly Giratina attacked.

Using Outrage, Giratina sped across the arena from the edge near the fence, writhing spasmodically, heading directly towards Oddball. It bounced along the ground, never quite touching down, and each landing caused a tremor throughout the arena. Oddball couldn't get out fo the way fast enough with the added inconvenience of the tremors, and ended up taking the full force of the attack. He was knocked to the side, landing hard on the ground several meters away.

Oddball groaned, getting up off the ground. The attack had hit him hard, but he was still in the fight...

He looked up, and saw Giratina fly up the side of the arena, parallel with the picket fence. It flew high into the air, spinning and twitching erratically, before falling back down.

It took Oddball a second to realize he was aiming for another pass. He barely got out of the way by using Quick Attack at the last second, but he ended up brushing Giratina's writhing, spiky body, taking a small amount of damage after all.

Oddball was surprised when he heard an angry roar from Giratina. Had he hurt Giratina with that Quick Attack? Whipping around, he could see nothing on the rapidly moving beast as it went up into the air again, coming down for a third pass.

Oddball quickly dashed out of the way before any of the tremors could knock him off balance, and watched as Giratina's Outrage finished, and it crashed unceremoniously into the picket fence

Except it didn't. Giratina curved up the side of the arena, and then came back down for another dive.

Barely escaping this time, Oddball's mind raced. Giratina wasn't stopping. Did he have to stop it himself, he wondered? His mind wandered back to the angry roar Giratina had yelled out when the Quick Attack had brushed against it.

Did he have to... hit it... with Quick Attack?

It was a long shot, but it was the best he could think of. When Giratina came by for another swing, Oddball dashed headlong towards it, and Quick Attacked the god of chaos right in between the eyes.

That definitely did something. Giratina roared in pain as it lost its concentration (or at least as much concentration as was required to writhe violently across a battlefield) and crashed unceremoniously into the picket fence at the edge of the arena. Oddball beamed before charging the fallen deity.

As he pummeled the confused creature with Quick Attacks, one question nagged at his mind, however. It was why Giratina seemed to be hurt so badly by Quick Attack. Heck, if Giratina was a Ghost-Type, he should have been immune to Normal-Type moves! And he couldn't have simply been another type, either, because no type was weak to Normal-Type moves...

He quickly decided it didn't matter as Giratina roared a primal roar, rising its hurt body high into the air. Oddball quickly scampered away, taking a spot in the center of the battlefield as Giratina floated hiiiiigh in the air, far out of reach. He doubted he could even reach him with a Thunderbolt up there...

Suddenly, something hit Oddball from behind. Quickly getting up and turning around, he found himself face to face with a miniature-sized version of the dark silhouette form Giratina had taken before.

That is to say, Oddball found himself face to face with several dozen miniature-sized versions of the dark silhouette form Giratina had taken before. There were a lot of them.

Oddball panicked and tried running the other way, only to discover the same thing. He was completely surrounded by these shadows of Giratina. Like... Shadow Sneak, times two-hundred. Actually, now that he thought about it, this probably was Shadow Sneak, and Giratina was just cheating to make an army out of the shadows. Grimacing, Oddball shot out a Thunderbolt at the nearest one, and it burst into a puff of smoke. He came to a sudden realization.

What if Giratina was cheating Shadow Sneak together with Double Team...?

Two could play at that game.

"Double Team!" He shouted. Another copy of himself slid out from him, and the two of them each shot a Thunderbolt, killing off two more shadow-Giratinas. He used Double Team again, and another clone slid out from himself, making three! This continued until there were six Oddballs, in a circle, facing outward. This proved to be an optimal strategy- none of the shadow-Giratinas could even get close! They did notice something strange, however. If they killed a group of shadow-Giratinas all at the same time, any shadow-Giratinas nearby would also be hurt as the shadows exploded violently, sending a wave of energy through any nearby ones...

Eventually, Giratina got fed up with this nonsense. This was going nowhere. Time to assume direct control.

The Oddballs were surprised to see a shadow-Giratina that was different from the others. This one was a dark red color, and when they tried to hit it with their electricity, it would defeat it, but it would not explode!

Quickly, the Oddballs devised a plan. Splitting up, they began to round up shadows, like Mareep on a ranch. Rounding up all the shadows they could around the dazed super-shadow, they unleashed the most powerful electric attacks they had- Thunder in all cases -, upon the group, creating a powerful chain reaction, and an even more powerful explosion.

A roar came from above. The red shadow had been utterly destroyed, and Giratina seemed to be taking damage...

This continued for some time, the six Oddballs rounding up shadow-Giratinas around whatever red shadows appeared, creating large chain explosions and hurting Giratina quite a bit. At one point, Giratina began to summon Draco Meteors, which was a huge problem at first, instantly wiping out three of the six Oddballs, but after that, their power weakened considerably.

Soon enough, Giratina's Shadow Sneak facade broke. One too many red shadows being destroyed had managed to break Giratina's concentration, and it fell to the ground, where the three remaining Oddballs wailed on its beaten body with Quick Attacks and electric attacks until it let out another great roar, firing off a humongous wave of red energy that spanned the entire arena. Both remaining Oddball clones were instantly destroyed, Oddball was thrown a good distance away and was hurt badly, and Giratina's body seemed to fade, starting at the tail and working up. Soon, only its head remained, with its six arms coming out of the back of its head and waving wildly. It emitted a roar, though it was more like a shriek, scratchy and hollow. It rushed after Oddball, summoning whole showers of Draco Meteors and firing off Shadow Balls every which way but loose. The shadow it cast on the ground grew and spread, forming more shadow-Giratinas that steadily spawned. And, finally, its body (which now consisted of its head), began to vibrate rapidly, and a strong gust of wind began to blow from it.

Now, onto what happened next.

"Double Team?!" Oddball shouted panickedly. He summoned a clone, but the heavy wind immediately blew it away, obliterating it in less than a second. Gasping, he set to scurrying away, Giratina's remnants in hot pursuit.

Oddball dodged Draco Meteors and Shadow Balls, sprinting as fast as he could around the arena, just trying to get some distance between him and the mad god. The shadow-Giratinas were creepy, but they were nowhere near fast enough to prove a problem for the pichu. Giratina followed, its six arms reaching as far as they could, trying to grab the pichu and presumably do horrible things to him.

Eventually, Oddball go a comfortable distance away from what was rest of Giratina. Turning around and standing firm, he fired a powerful Thunderbolt straight for Giratina.

Giratina countered with a powerful Shadow Ball, which pushed forward through Oddballs Thunderbolt, the pichu barely being able to generate enough electricity to fight it. Giratina fired more Shadow Balls, each increasing the size and power of the one Oddball tried desperately to push back. Draco Meteors came down nearby and shadow-Giratinas approached, forcing extra electricity to be wasted to destroy them before they could reach Oddball.

Oddball pushed as hard as he could. He needed more electricity! He needed more _POWER!_

His cheeks were blazing. His entire body was convulsing violently as he forced it to generate and channel waaaaaaaaaay more electricity than a pichu should ever be able to handle. His brain screamed at him to stop, to give in and die from the immense Shadow Ball, but Oddball ignored its warnings, pouring more power into his electricity.

Finally, when it felt like Oddball was literally going to drop dead from exhaustion and electricity overload, he gave on last push, surging his Thunderbolt forward that little extra bit...

And it pushed the Shadow Ball back at Giratina, which exploded in its face.

Normally, that alone would have been enough to finish the deity, but this time, for some reason, the Shadow Ball didn't seem to do much to Giratina.

But then Oddball's overloaded Thunderbolt hit.

Giratina roared and moaned as it took its last damage. Its head twitched spasmodically and it writhed in pure agony as it began to disintegrate. Its body flashed in and out of existence, and it finally breathed its last, the last bits of its head bursting into tiny particles of what might have been antimatter, which then scattered through the emptiness of the Distortion World. Obviously, the god was not truly dead- it would regenerate from the ambient energies of the Distortion World, but for now...

Giratina had been defeated.

All was silent.

Oddball collapsed on the floor.

* * *

Music for your listening pleasure:

The Distortion World: The Distortion World (Pokemon Platinum)

Giratina Appears!: Bogmire Intro (Luigi's Mansion)

Vs. Giratina! Part I: Boolossus Battle (Luigi's Mansion)

Vs. Giratina! Part II: Bogmire Battle (Luigi's Mansion)

Vs. Giratina! Part III: Catching King Boo (Luigi's Mansion)

Vs. Giratina! (Alt): Giratina Battle (Pokemon Platinum)

Pretty much the finale here! Just a short epilogue, and then an extra chapter that shows a bonus boss fight, and this story will be done!

First three Giratina songs are the songs for his three distinct stages. Boolossus for his Outrage stage, Bogmire for his Shadow Sneak stage, and Catching King Boo for his final stage. Giratina's original battle theme will probably work too, in the event any of the first htree songs disappear from the internet for whatever reason


	14. Epilogue

Oddball woke up lying on his side. His entire body ached. He struggled to open his eyes, blinking to adjust to the brightness of the room, and slowly took in his surroundings.

He was in the Champion's room at the Pokemon League. The arena had returned to its original position, and the illusion of a library had once again appeared, covering the walls where the stained glass windows had been during his battle with Dooplex's pokemon team.

Dooplex was sitting in his chair again. He looked up from his book when he noticed Oddball struggling to get up.

"Wow." He said simply, watching the pichu slowly rise from his chair. He closed his copy of Necromancy: Tips and Tricks for Getting the Most out of Your Graveyard and stood, walking over to Oddball as he pushed himself to stand up. Oddball could feel Dooplex looking down at him, not lifting a finger to help him. He liked that. It let him prove his strength. "I got to say, I didn't expect you to be able to defeat Dr. Distorto." Dooplex continued as Oddball stood. "I'm impressed."

Oddball shook his head to clear it and cracked his neck to both sides, shaking a bit to loosen his muscles. He took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes before glaring, exhausted, at Dooplex.

"Of course I beat him. I wasn't just gonna let myself die." He croaked out, coughing as he said it. He cleared his throat. Man, he was sore everywhere.

"Of course." Dooplex said with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Well, you've done it. You've defeated the Elite Four and the Champion. Your name has already been recorded in the Hall of Fame" He said. He wasn't sure how he could tell, but it sounded like Dooplex didn't say that very often. "And I don't say that very often."

Welp.

Then, Dooplex said something that surprised him.

"What are you going to do now?" He said to the Pichu standing in front of him.

Oddball stopped at the question. He hadn't thought of that. Dooplex had been leading him along, setting up challenges for him to overcome. The legendary pokemon and the Elite Four, he would never have gotten to fight them if Dooplex hadn't brought him along for the ride, and told the guards to let him in in the Elite Four's case. Now it looked like Dooplex was finished leading him along, and he hadn't thought of what he was going to do next. It was a complete blank in his mind.

Dooplex seemed to sense the inner turmoil his question had stirred up.

"Tell you what." He said, catching Oddball's attention immediately. "I've got a position opening up where I work. I could pull some strings, get you in. I think it would be right up your alley, with what you've demonstrated to me these last couple of days." He continued, watching Oddball's face light up from a tired grimace into a confident smirk.

"Sounds good." said Oddball as he turned away with his hands on his hips, looking pridefully up at the massive walls of books.

And for whatever reason he did that, it turned out to be a very bad idea, as the moment he turned his back to Dooplex, the duplighost rose his arm, and something where his hand would have been snapped.

Oddball felt his vision grow cloudy, his eyelids grow heavy, and his legs grow tired and weak.

Once more, Oddball collapsed on the ground. The last thing he heard was the voice of Dooplex, speaking.

"Excellent." said Dooplex as he turned, tenting his fingers (or lack thereof).

"Yes, Oddball. I'll take care of everything."

_To be continued...?_

* * *

Music for your listening pleasure:

Ending: Hall of Fame (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum)

Oddball Collapses: Astral Hall Ambush (Luigi's Mansion)

Well, here are. I'd be lying if I said I never expected to make it this far, but, somehow I really never did? I always knew I'd force myself to finish this story eventually, but the big hunk of cynic in me kept saying "be realistic, you'll never finish this story it will decay in your documents forever" well JOKE'S ON YOU, ME. I FINISHED IT.

I know the ending is super abrupt, but the thing is, the story isn't over (in case that wasn't obvious enough). Pretty soon here I'll be writing the sequel. Be on the lookout for Oddball: Escape the Crystal Palace, where Oddball, now enlisted in the Crystal Army under Dooplex's command, has to help break a herd of Yoshis out of the enormous castle without being caught by any of Dooplex's goons while the rest of the Crystal Empire's nobility is out on business! Sound easy? Well, if you've ever playing Pikmin, you'd know that sometimes the biggest threat to a large group is in how hard it is to coordinate, Not to mention the mysterious shadow that keeps appearing on the walls...

MYSTERY

INTRIGUE

TENSION

ROMANCE

HORSE

2 of the above may or may not actually be included in Oddball: Escape the Crystal Palace. I won't say which ones.

Also watch out for Chocolate Kirby Chronicles, the story of a big-city Kirby as he tries to convince an overly-critical and emotionless interviewer to let him join a planet-wide group of elite warriors with a resume full of fantastical stories of adventure, and Legend of the Lightning Egg, a thrilling tale where three not-quite-normal Yoshis get caught up in a plot that spans the whole of Yoshi's Island, where an unseen foe attempts to get his hands on a legendary artifact left on the island by a mysterious ancient civilization!

SEE YOU ON THE FLIPSIDE

geez that author's note was almost as long as the chapter itself


End file.
